CSH is very pleased to announce that we received funding from the Network for Social Change (N4SC) for a project which, over the next year, will develop a How-to-Guide on setting up a green space walking group for inpatients in mental health units.
This Guide will be developed with the input of mental health and sustainable healthcare networks, mental health inpatient units nationally and other interested parties and will then be piloted in 2 mental health units. The impact of the project will be evaluated and disseminated.
This project seeks to address the limited access to nature and fresh air for people with severe mental illness in mental health units. Facilitation of better access to both, will have a positive impact on inpatients’ mental and physical health. Other benefits will include the empowerment of patients by facilitating informal contact with the health professionals looking after them, breaking down some of the barriers to communication; the emphasis on the importance of the natural world in mental health and in a healthcare system that doesn’t yet fully acknowledge its value.
Just reading the basics you can really see the potential improvements on the wellbeing of inpatients and impact this could have on the fluency of patient:staff communication. Really looking forward to the results of the project. The impacts of increased access to greenspace and nature, alongside excersize could be huge. How exciting!
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