Singapore: Garden by the bed – Bringing nature and healing to hospital patients
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital brightens the day of acute care patients with a horticultural therapy project. Spearheaded by a team of occupational therapists, it sees the hospital moving “gardens” into its wards.
By Ong Wee Jin
The Straits Times
Apr 24, 2024
Excerpt:
Developed as a “hospital in a garden and a garden in a hospital”, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) takes being a healing environment a step further.
Plants and gardens can promote a sense of well-being,
but not all patients are able to visit the hospital gardens.
Senior occupational therapist Giang Thuy Anh (bottom left) decided that that wasn’t right and did something about it. She decided to bring the garden to them using mobile horticulture trolleys, an initiative she calls Garden by the Bed.
“The objective of our project is to improve the well-being of the patients. Many of our patients in the acute care wards are not fit enough to go to the garden. That’s why we want to bring the garden to them. That was the idea behind Garden by the Bed,” she says.
Horticultural therapy uses plants or plant-based activities for healing and rehabilitation. Using this therapy, healthcare workers can work on a patient’s sensory, cognitive and physical abilities.
She and a team of occupational therapists and volunteers have made nature accessible to patients in six KTPH geriatric acute care wards today.
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