Intensive Care Ward Opens on Hospital Rooftop
Hollie Allan, 29, is being transferred out of intensive care for the first time in two months. She is moving upwards in a hospital lift towards a new outdoor ward located on the roof of King's College Hospital in south London.
"Brace yourself for the cold!" say the nurses crowded into the lift around her bed.
As the lift doors open, sunshine falls on Hollie's face. She smiles and then tears come to her eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's so nice. It's so beautiful," she says, wiping her eyes. "I forgot what it feels like to be outside."
Still in her hospital bed, connected to feeding tubes and life support, Hollie is the first patient to experience the new intensive care rooftop ward at King's College Hospital.
The outdoor ward is the first of its kind in the UK and has space for six patients. Each bed is equipped with power and oxygen supplies housed in waterproof boxes adjacent to them.
The canopy design allows some of the most critically ill patients to be cared for safely outdoors while receiving all necessary medical support.
Exposure to fresh air and nature has been shown by research to improve patient wellbeing and reduce hospital stays. While hospital gardens have existed for some time to support this, they rarely accommodate the needs of critically ill patients.
Doctors at King's College Hospital believe there could be significant benefits for patients who have been hospitalized for extended periods.
They plan to monitor patients' heart rates, respiratory rates, and pain levels to assess whether the outdoor rooftop ward aids in faster recovery.
Hollie, who is awaiting a vital heart operation, had been too unwell to go outside even before her hospital admission. Her prolonged stay in intensive care has had a profound impact on her.
"When you're stuck inside all day there's no motivation to try and get back to normal life. You get tired of fighting."
The rooftop garden is integrated into the hospital's 60-bed intensive care unit, one of the largest in the country.
Hollie may spend several hours at a time on the outdoor ward, weather permitting.
"Even if it was thunderstorms, I'd be out here. It's lovely," Hollie says.
'Ripped from Reality'
Some bays on the rooftop are partially covered with canopies.
Dr Phil Hopkins, an intensive care consultant at King's, explains that experiencing natural elements helps patients readjust after being "ripped from their reality" and institutionalized in hospital.
"We don't just want to save lives," he says. "We want to return them to their lives as quickly as we can."
Hopkins and his team will closely monitor patients to evaluate the effects of spending time outdoors. The rooftop space will also be accessible to intensive care staff during breaks, providing them with a place for respite.
'Changes the Way They Breathe'
Garden designer Sarah Price, who collaborated with landscape architect Nigel Dunnett on the rooftop planting, describes the space as "the antithesis of a hospital ward." Price and Dunnett previously worked together on the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics. Dunnett passed away before the roof garden was completed.
The beds are surrounded by scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine, and lavender, along with textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.
"You can see the change not only on their face, but just in the way that they breathe," Price says, noting that gardens help people slow down and feel more connected to nature.
The rooftop garden includes plants such as woodland sage, sour cherry tree, bloody crane's-bill, and sea thrift.
The garden's construction cost more than £2 million, funds raised by the hospital's charity.
Hospital chief executive Clive Kay expresses optimism that the garden will improve patients' hospital experience and hopes it will lead to "shorter lengths of [patient] stays and better use of critical care facilities," potentially serving as a model for other NHS hospitals.
(Drone footage supplied by King's College Hospital)
