Outdoor Therapy Now Possible At Parkview Clinic Thanks To Gift

We were so thrilled to cut the ribbon on a fabulous new outdoor woodland area at our Parkview Clinic, which the young people at our hospital’s inpatient mental health unit will be able to enjoy.  

The transformation of this 10,000 square metres of unused outdoor space was possible thanks to a phenomenal £200,000 grant from NHS Charities Together’s ‘Greener Communities Fund,’ with environmental charity Hubbub, which is funded by proceeds from the Starbucks five pence cup charge. A further £75,000 was provided by our charity, together with a £25,000 gift in kind from our Trust’s Vital Services team.  

Parkview cares for critically ill adolescents and young people struggling with a mental illness, who had asked for a better outdoor area as the existing space was limited, unsafe and largely inaccessible.  

The new space has been carefully and meticulously designed to become an integral component of a patient’s clinical care, where they can engage in recreational, educational and physical activities. It includes a sensory garden and features which will aid in combatting stress and anxiety, a grassed area, a walkway through woodland, and spaces for outside therapy.    

.

It also means patients and families, including, for the first-time, family pets, will be encouraged to meet outdoors, where they can have more normalised family interactions.   

Nicole Hermanns, Head of Philanthropy and Strategic Projects at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said:  

“We are incredibly grateful to NHS Charities Together, Starbucks and Hubbub for supporting our inpatient mental health unit, Parkview Clinic.   

“Thanks to the Greener Communities Fund, we have totally transformed the clinic’s, previously inaccessible, outdoor garden turning it into a much-needed therapeutic green space, which is now an integral component of a patient’s clinical care.   

“Many of our patients are often with us for long periods of time. They can now attend therapy sessions outside of the clinical walls, which has been shown to increase connectivity and overall engagement in care. Patients will also be taught and encouraged to use nature and green spaces as coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety, depression and a variety of sensory needs.”

Over the past 10 months, over 400 volunteers from our local community have helped us to overhaul the space, which has seen them collectively bed over 600 plants and over 60 pear, apple and plum trees, which, when matured, will become an established orchard.    

We’re so thankful to NHS Charities Together, Hubbub, and Starbucks for this transformational gift, as well as our dedicated volunteers.