Oswestry: When hospital becomes home, school and a place to play

Work has begun on a garden designed for children being treated at a Shropshire hospital.

The Garden for Alice, at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Oswestry, aims to provide health and wellbeing benefits for children and their families.

It will include a vegetable patch, woodland walk, and areas for outdoor learning and games.

"Children attend RJAH for a variety of orthopaedic conditions and during this time the ward really becomes home, school and a place of play," said Suzanne Marsden, manager of the Alice Ward - the hospital's dedicated children's unit which provides treatment for children up to 18 years old with bone, joint and muscular disorders.

"The garden will support their recovery, rehabilitation and wellbeing," she added.

A donation of £100,000 was contributed to the project by the hospital's league of friends, as well as money from the public, local businesses and community events.

"Creating a safe, peaceful and sensory garden is going to provide a host of health and wellbeing benefits, as well as improve the experience, of our patients and their loved ones," said Stacey Keegan, RJAH chief executive.

Anna Turner, Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, attended an official turf-cutting ceremony at the garden, to mark the start of the project.