The greenspace programme was one of the projects voted for by staff to receive some of the £1m innovation and transformation fund pledged by the Charity.

We caught up with James Foss, green plan delivery lead and greenspace transformation programme lead to find out how plans are going to enhance and improve green space on our hospital sites.

“The success of any project is in the planning, so we’ve been busy getting surveys carried out in the areas we identified as needing renovation, such as:

• The central garden at Northwick Park Hospital, and
• The outside seating area by the Wellspring restaurant at Ealing Hospital

“Bouygues, the PFI contractor for Central Middlesex Hospital, are developing a strategy to introduce their own changes, and we’re awaiting those details.

“Our ecologist, Charlie button, is carrying out habitat assessments to understand what flowers, plants and wildlife are currently there, which will dictate the types of renovations we can carry out. We also need to know how much light the areas receive and the quality of the soil, so we know which plants will thrive there and benefit the local environments.

"Charlie has started the enhancement plan that includes the recommendations for all the spaces, which will provide a clear outline of works."

“We surveyed staff to find out how they feel about the current green spaces around the hospitals, and what improvements they would like to see.

“They said that the areas we identified were unattractive, and they would like to see more plants that:

• Attract bees and birds
• Promote nature
• Are visually attractive and encourage biodiversity.

“They also said they would like more seating to enjoy their surroundings.

“Once we analyse all the data, we hope to partner with local charities and staff, to help us prepare the ground and plant seeds. Nature works at its own pace, so it will be a little while before we can reap the benefits, but it will be worth the wait.”

We’ll check back with James in a few months to see how they’re getting on.