Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has received a national award for its innovative development of green space at Royal Preston Hospital.
Planning Officer, Tracey Calvey and Specialist Therapeutic Radiographer, Katie Fisher have received an NHS Forest Award for their brilliant work supporting patients whilst they undergo treatment at Rosemere Cancer Centre. The award highlights how the hospital is using nature and green space to improve the experience of patients whilst they undergo treatment, wait and recover at Rosemere Cancer Centre.
The pair won the NHS Forest Award for Innovative Development of Green Space at a Health Site. The judges were particularly impressed with how they have incorporated the principles of green social prescribing directly into the care that patients at Rosemere Cancer Centre receive through the ‘Rosemere Rambles’ and ‘Rooting for Radiotherapy’ projects that Tracey and Katie have introduced. The award also recognised how the projects demonstrate the power of nature on healthcare sites and the benefits of green space not just for patients, but also staff and the local community as well.
Tracey and Katie have led an innovative project that is helping to transform patient care by harnessing the power of nature to provide therapeutic benefits for patients. By working closely with colleagues from Macmillan Cancer Support UK, Rosemere Cancer Foundation, radiotherapy, patient representatives, and the Trust’s Sustainability Team, they developed practical, evidence-based green space initiatives that are now in place at Royal Preston Hospital including:
- Rosemere Rambles - Walking routes around the hospital, complete with QR codes linking to guided mindfulness exercises. Bite-sized mindfulness activities complement the routes, encouraging reflection and relaxation.
- Seed swaps - Patients can take home and grow plants at no cost, encouraging outdoor activity, social connection, and engagement with biodiversity.
- Nature imagery and window wraps – have been installed inside waiting areas, creating a calmer and more welcoming environm
ent. - Information boards - Highlighting local green spaces and community activities across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Katie explains: “As radiographers, we see patients every day for weeks at a time. That means we’re in a unique position to offer care that goes beyond treatment. These small changes, a walk, some seeds, even just looking at a picture of nature, can help reduce stress, ease social isolation, and improve overall wellbeing.”
Accessible walking routes, wayfinding and bite-sized mindfulness activities are helping transform hospital green spaces into places supporting gentle movement, relaxation and wellbeing for people undergoing treatment, waiting and recovery.
The project offers something practical and sustainable that can be scaled up and adapted by other departments and hospitals. The initiatives introduced as part of the project are not only innovative in their approach towards patient care, they are also aimed at reducing health inequalities and transforming the holistic care that patients receive.
For more information on the NHS Forest Award, visit the NHS Forest website.
