The NHS Forest will launch its national Tree Sponsorship Scheme to the public on the 24 January 2012 at the London Carbon Reduction Network meeting, making it possible for anyone in the UK to sponsor a tree at NHS Forest sites around the country. The NHS Forest creates recuperative forests on and near to healthcare sites, to aid patient recovery, boost staff morale, provide areas where patients can come to terms with their condition and enable us all to reconnect with ‘our NHS’.
Barney Jenkins, Director at OxTreeGen, said, “It is a fact that being close to or within sight of green space helps patient recovery and improves staff wellbeing. Just these two benefits will see a significant reduction in costs to the NHS, and if the resulting improvement in air quality and the involvement of patients nurturing these sites are factored in, then the NHS Forest becomes a necessary part of any future NHS, no matter what shape the current reforms take.”
Rachel Stancliffe, the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, which runs the NHS Forest, said: “Seeing trees from your hospital bed, or as you walk to your work at the hospital, or as a symbol of thanks for the staff from a grateful patient will make the world of difference. If you or a loved one has ever been cared for at a hospital and you would like to give something back then sponsoring a tree is an ideal way to show your support.”