Fremantle D4 Rehabilitation participant Tony Graff (Menora), occupational therapist Paula McGinley, Robert Read (Baldivis) and clinical nurse consultant Janice Guy taking part in the Wellness Garden at Fremantle Hospital.
Camera IconFremantle D4 Rehabilitation participant Tony Graff (Menora), occupational therapist Paula McGinley, Robert Read (Baldivis) and clinical nurse consultant Janice Guy taking part in the Wellness Garden at Fremantle Hospital. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Fremantle Hospital: new wellness garden to help patients’ rehabilitation

Jessica NicoFremantle Gazette

PATIENTS going through rehabilitation at Fremantle Hospital now have a beautiful new garden to help them with their recovery.

The D4 Rehabilitation Centre, which looks after people with a number of conditions including dementia, Parkinson’s and stroke, has been given a new wellness garden thanks to a bequest from former patient Hilda Atanaskovicand funding from the Fremantle Hospital Ladies Auxiliary.

The garden, which volunteers put together during a busy bee earlier this month, includes sensory plants and herbs with the hopes that the smell, taste and vision will promote memories among those going through dementia, while grass, gravel and a ramp have been included to help physiotherapists with their patients.

D4 Rehabilitation Centre co-ordinator Janice Guy said the garden was designed to create more therapy spaces for treatment.

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“People exercising in natural outdoor environments get more out of it and sustain better changes than those in gyms or other outdoor settings,” she said.

“We hope that having therapy in a natural environment will contrast to the experience of being inside a hospital, reduce stressors associated with attending appointments and improve outcomes.”