A new garden for patients, families and staff has been funded by Nottingham Hospitals Charity, and officially opened outside the Trent Cardiac Centre, at the City Hospital.
Nottingham Panthers team members and fans helped fund the garden, with the ice hockey team raising over £16,000 towards the project. It came after the Panthers General Manager, Gary Moran, was treated at the centre. Gary, who has since sadly passed away, missed his first home game in 40 years when he underwent open heart surgery.At the opening of the garden in September 2020, Gary said: “We have the best ice hockey fans in the country and every year we ask them to help us with a particular worthy cause and they’ve never let us down. Last year was no exception. We’re thrilled to have been able to help with this project at the hospital where so much brilliant work goes on helping many, many thousands of people from every walk of life.”
The garden area had stood unused and dilapidated for several years. Staff members from the Cardiac Shared Governance team at Nottingham hospitals came up with the idea of converting it into a peaceful outdoor space, where patients, families and staff could step away from the busy hospital environment for a short while and have time and space for reflection and, if necessary, difficult conversations.
Thanks to donations from Nottingham Panthers, Nottingham City Transport, former Mayor of Broxtowe Councillor Michael Brown, staff at the Trent Cardiac Centre, and other donors and fundraisers in the local community, Nottingham Hospitals Charity was able to give £50,000 towards the refurbishment project. The work was overseen by the NUH Estates and Facilities team, who worked closely with landscapers Green River Gardening and with Trent Cardiac Centre staff on the project.
The new garden was officially opened on 22nd September 2020 by Gary Moran and his consultant, Selvaraj Shanmuganathan, along with Councillor Brown, Karen Roberts from Nottingham City Transport and Barbara Cathcart, Chief Executive of Nottingham Hospitals Charity.