Hospital Rainbow Gardens pick up Green Flag Awards

The Rainbow Gardens at Bassetlaw Hospital (pictured) and Doncaster Royal Infirmary cost a total of £50,000 and were funded by public donations

Hospitals in South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire have been recognised for the quality of their gardens.

Bassetlaw Hospital and Doncaster Royal Infirmary have gained Green Flag Awards, which signify quality in parks and green spaces.

The green spaces were built for patients and staff and incorporate memorials to those who died from Covid and for parents who have lost a baby.

They cost a total of £50,000 and were funded by public donations.

The award's organisers said that Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had "recognised the health benefits of green spaces to staff, patients and their visitors".

The Rainbow Garden at Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop opened in May 2022 and incorporates an arched sculpture in memory of staff and patients who died from Covid.

Its namesake at Doncaster Royal Infirmary has a sculptural centrepiece featuring hand casts of medics working across the trust.

The garden at Bassetlaw Hospital features a memorial arch in memory of staff and patients who died from Covid

Suzy Brain England, the hospital trust's chair, said: "The spaces that were developed as Covid-19 and baby loss memorials provide a calm and peaceful sanctuary at the heart of our busy hospitals.

"The benefit to people's mental health in a hospital setting cannot be underestimated."

The Green Flag Award scheme has been running since 1996 and is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy with support from the government.