The hospital garden sits on a rooftop, surrounded by London's skyline. Inside King's College Hospital, critically ill patients who once spent weeks or months staring at ceiling tiles can now feel grass under their fingers and smell fresh rosemary in the air.
King's College Hospital in south London has opened the UK's first rooftop garden designed specifically for critical care patients. The space sits atop the hospital's 60-bed intensive care unit and can accommodate up to six patients at a time, each still connected to full life-support systems. Six specially designed weatherproof cabinets supply power, data, and medical gases so patients never have to be disconnected from the equipment keeping them alive.
Dr. Tom Best, Clinical Director of King's Critical Care, said many of his patients spend weeks or even months receiving intensive care — and research shows that time spent in nature can speed recovery. "It's important to treat the whole person," he said, "and this outdoor critical care unit helps meet our goal of caring for the mind as well as the body."
The garden was designed by Nigel Dunnett, a professor at the University of Sheffield, and Sarah Price, a three-time winner of the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London. They filled the space with aromatic plants — rosemary, sage, oregano — alongside soft, tactile species like lamb's ear that invite patients to reach out and touch. The goal was active engagement, not just passive observation.
For patients like Holly, who is waiting for a vital heart operation, the garden has become something essential. She spends hours at a time on the outdoor ward. "When you're stuck inside all day there's no motivation to try and get back to normal life," she told the BBC. "Even if it was thunderstorms, I'd be out here. It's lovely."
Iona Joy, Director of Grants at King's College Hospital Charity, which funded the project, said the garden is about dignity as much as medicine. "We are transforming intensive care into compassionate care — where science, technology, and empathy work together to save and rebuild lives," she said.
Beyond comfort, the hospital plans to study how fresh air, greenery, and sunlight affect patients' long-term recovery, as well as how the space helps families and staff manage stress. The critical care centre supports over 5,000 patients and 15,000 loved ones every year — a community that now has somewhere green and quiet to breathe.
Professor Clive Kay, Chief Executive of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said the rooftop garden reflects a deep commitment to hope. "It's been built with purpose and guided by the needs of patients and their families," he said.