Grove Park Surgery Therapeutic Garden Opened

A parting gift to patients from Dr Sheila Hunt

The Grove Park Surgery Therapeutic Garden at the Burlington Lane GP surgery was launched this week with a party hosted by its patients’ group, GPSPG.

Dr Sheila Hunt, who founded the surgery in 1988 and retired last year, created the garden as a parting gift to patients. She explained, 'Sometimes drugs are not the solution to medical problems that patients bring to GPs and indeed, many issues have a social dimension, such as loneliness and isolation. Sharing in a joint activity such as gardening can have so many benefits.’

Initially the garden was a family affair with Sheila’s niece Sophie Walker, now a Chelsea award-winning designer drawing up the plans, and her husband Christopher Richards, an architect recently retired from Barley Mow’s Acanthus and now retrained as a furniture maker carrying out the building work. Everything, including the shed, is curved and hand-built.

Group sessions are run every Thursday by Karen Liebreich from Abundance London and John Gill from the Chiswick Horticultural Society. Other patients who prefer to work alone come on different days. Patients spoke movingly of the benefits they had found from the therapeutic gardening - from healthy eating, physical activity and fighting social isolation and depression. Lashings of tea were mentioned as an important part of the therapy. One patient, who was unable to attend, wrote in:

‘For anyone who suffers with mental health or physical problems, or even just isolation and loneliness the therapeutic garden is of huge benefit - even if like myself gardening was never considered as a hobby.

‘I think it is important for people to have opportunities to make a contribution. Day centres were the main bridging units to integrate people (including those from hospital) into society, unfortunately all the day centres have closed so a supportive volunteer opportunity like this is much needed.

'Despite feeling very awkward initially having to attend my GP service due to being aware of my health conditions and even though I have never particularly enjoyed gardening - I have surprisingly gained enjoyment from participating. I have been able to do some exercise and it is another avenue to help me leave the house.'

Three of the partners, Drs Richard Drewry and Shanta Sethurajan and Gabriella Muellam attended the event and seemed astonished and delighted to see the progress their patients had made. Dr Hunt said, "it was lovely to be given some of the harvest of vegetables and see how the garden has benefitted patients."

if you are a patient at the surgery and feel this might help you, have a word with your GP. Or just pop in on a Thursday morning. It's nearly always tea time.

July 27, 2019