Page 23 - Real Rochdale Issue 23 August 2024

Rochdale Infirmary opens ‘Oasis Garden’
REAL ROCHDALE - AUTUMN 2024 22
Rochdale Infirmary, with support from its
official charity, NorthCare, has officially
opened a unique Oasis Garden, an outdoor
space designed to support patients living
with dementia or cognitive impairments.
The project was supported by the
donation of 120 litres of paint by
Darwen-based Crown Paints, including paint
specially formulated in an easy to view
‘dementia blue’ shade – a unique hue
developed by the Crown Colour Studio in
partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society.
Around 500 patients will use the garden,
which opened in August, each year.
The Oasis Garden has been created using
charitable funds, donations from local
companies, and support from volunteers, to
provide Rochdale Infirmary’s patients, their
families and colleagues with a break from
the hospital environment and a safe space to
spend time together.
It features custom flowerbeds and
planters at the right size and height to be
used by patients in wheelchairs or with
limited mobility, as well as a designated
area for employee wellbeing.
Russell Kitchen, operations support manager
at Crown Paints, said: “As proud national
charity partners of the Alzheimer’s Society, it
was a real honour to support the
transformation of the Oasis Garden. We
know the transformative power that colour
and paint can have, and we’re proud to be
able to provide a donation that has helped
make the Oasis Garden a reality.
Karen Casper, fundraising officer at
NorthCare Charity, said: “The Oasis Garden
has been an 18-month labour of love. To see
it in use now makes it worth all of the hard
work and determination of everyone
involved in the project.”
23 REAL ROCHDALE - AUTUMN 2024