Despite being located in one of the most built-up areas of Central London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital benefits from green spaces both within and outside its main hospital building. Outside, a courtyard garden provides a sunny haven for staff and the local community to sit amongst plants and flowers – given a colourful boost in 2020 with a donation of plants by the Chelsea Flower Show after its cancellation due to Covid-19.

Indoors, the ‘Greenhaven’ garden, designed by landscaper Jinny Blom, brings a tropical feel to the hospital and provides a green sanctuary, with seating and sleeping pods, where staff, patients and visitors can relax and take time away from the busy hospital environment. The hospital’s transparent roof fills the area with natural light, creating a kind of giant greenhouse. Visible from multiple floors, Greenhaven beautifies the indoor space at the hospital, and is used by medical staff as a site to conduct physiotherapy sessions, as well as hosting activities for patients such as art, dancing, and musical performances.

Courtyard garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, June 2021
Courtyard garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, June 2021. Photo: Vicki Brown / Centre for Sustainable Healthcare 2021. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
Aerial view of CW+ Greenhaven indoor garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Aerial view of CW+ Greenhaven indoor garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, June 2021. Photo: Photo: Vicki Brown / Centre for Sustainable Healthcare 2021. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

A new, state-of-the-art, Sky Garden opened in 2021 adjacent to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the top floor. The space has been cleverly designed to accommodate beds and wheelchairs, allowing ICU patients and their visitors to enjoy relaxing amid Mediterranean shrubs and grasses without leaving the hospital.

Sky Garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Sky Garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Photo: Britt Willoughby Dyer. All rights reserved.
Sky Garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Sky Garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Photo: Britt Willoughby Dyer. All rights reserved.

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