DYKEBAR HOSPITAL ~ JOURNEYS AND PATHWAYS

The Island

Acute Unit Proposal

Artist Jane Kelly

The external area adjacent to the Acute Unit Dining and Occupational Therapy Rooms have been identified as the preferred site for a landscape intervention. The brief requires that the design offers facility for gardening as a horticultural therapy, all weather space for Yoga and Tai Chi and that it aesthetically transforms the space for the better. The proposal offers –

• An oval shaped ‘island’ of hard and soft landscape to facilitate Tai Chi and Yoga, circular Walking Meditation and horticultural therapy.

• A shelter belt of trees and shrubs to screen views to and from buildings and carparks, and to provide further gardening opportunities.

• To level and re grass the surrounding rough grass area.

• A colour and material palette, related to the adjoining architecture and landscape, to lead the specifi cation of high quality building material and of planting to give year round seasonal display.



Planting and therapy
The ‘island’ planting will include trees with strong seasonal shows of blossom, berry and leaf and would be underplanted with aromatic shrubs like viburnum, lemon verbena and lavender. In addition to some evergreen trees and shrubs, the ‘screening’ bed planting would include cooking apple trees, blackberry, loganberry and gooseberry bushes, rhubarb and a variety of culinary herbs like rosemary, sage, parsley and thyme.

It is envisaged that this landscape intervention, particularly the planting, will be maintained by patients attending the Occupational Therapy Department and that the produce will be used in a number of kitchen based activities.



Therapeutic use of the landscaped garden area
In the acute area of mental health, the focus of the Occupational Therapist is to identify areas of diffi culty that the patient is experiencing in activities of daily living. Thereafter, the Occupational Therapy service plays an important part in working towards providing therapeutic interventions that will address the needs of the patient to enable them to reach a level of functioning to improve the quality of life for that person. This, therefore, means that the more opportunities a patient has in the rehabilitation process, the quicker the recovery period will be for that person resulting in discharge from hospital.

It is envisaged that the landscaped garden area would be used as a therapeutic treatment medium, which would help facilitate this process. The area would be used as a multi-functional area, which would benefi t the patients therapeutically in a stimulating and tranquil environment.

The area could be used for a variety of activities: Exercise area: For promoting physical exercise with activities such as Tai Chi, and outdoor games. It could also be used for social events such as barbecues and picnics.

Horticultural opportunity: An opportunity would arise for a gardening group to be established for caring and maintaining the garden. This would enable the patients to have a sense of responsibility for the upkeep of the area tending to the plants, fl owers, herbs, fruit and vegetables.

Cultivated foods: The patients will also have the benefi t of being able to use the fruit and vegetables that they have helped to cultivate by for example, using the herbs and apples for sauce in the lunch group and the apples, rhubarb, and gooseberries in the baking groups for making pies and jams.



The many therapeutic benefits that the project could offer the patients would be:
• Lifting of mood.
• Improve motivation.
• Improve concentration.
• Promote physical activity.
• Provide tranquillity and sensory stimulation.
• Promote social interaction and working as part of a team.
• Build up patient’s confi dence and self-esteem.
• For patient’s to learn new skills.
• For patient’s to become interested in hobbies that they used to have.

'Overall, the landscaped garden area would be a great asset and development opportunity for the Occupational Therapy staff and patients. This area would have many therapeutic advantages. This would be an environment, which would be used to promote health and well being for patients whereby they can achieve a sense of enjoyment and fulfi lment.'
Jackie Cavin, State Registered Occupational Therapist.


Space prior to the creation of the new artwork.