Thanks to a generous grant from the National Lottery Awards for All, Milton Keynes Hospital Charity has been able to create an outdoor gym for people in hospital to use.
Based in Milton Keynes University Hospital’s Physiotherapy Unit Garden, the outdoor gym will create opportunities for people to receive their treatment and care in a peaceful outside space; complementing their experience with lovely greenery and – hopefully – some sunshine! The three items of equipment have been carefully selected by the physiotherapy team and include equipment fully accessible for wheelchair users too. Around 750 people are expected to benefit from the new Outdoor Gym every year.
Therapy Lead Celia Hyem-Smith said: “Before transforming the space, it was very limited in its usage as patients rarely sit outdoors. Thanks to the grant from the National Lottery we’ve been able to make it a safe, welcoming and relaxing space for patients to receive their physiotherapy treatment and exercise. It provides a clear enhancement to patient experience and has created a beautiful space for people at a particularly vulnerable point in their lives.”
Associate Director, Milton Keynes Hospital Charity, Vanessa Holmes, said: “Thank you National Lottery for this wonderful grant, without which none of this would be possible. We’re now able to provide 750 people each year with a positive, peaceful outdoor space to have their treatment and exercise. We are very lucky to have so many green courtyards at MKUH, and making practical use of them in this way is just incredible.”
