Source : Perth Now news
King’s College Hospital has created the first-ever outdoor ward in the UK.
The new outdoor ward is located on the roof of the hospital in south London, and has enough space for six patients, all of whom can be connected to power and oxygen supplies housed in a waterproof box next to the beds.
Dr Phil Hopkins, an intensive care consultant at King’s College Hospital, told the BBC: “We don’t just want to save lives. We want to return them to their lives as quickly as we can.”
Garden designer Sarah Price has helped to curate the rooftop ward with the help of landscape architect Nigel Dunnett, having previously worked together on the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Price said: “It’s the antithesis of a hospital ward.”
The garden designer believes it’s important that patients feel connected to nature while they receive treatment and recover.
She said: “You can see the change not only on their face, but just in the way that they breathe.”
Meanwhile, a study conducted at King’s College Hospital recently found that one in seven people have used AI instead of seeing a GP.
According to the research, one in five people who use AI for health advice say it discouraged them from seeking professional healthcare.
Professor Graham Lord, an executive director at King’s Health Partners, said in a statement: “This research underlines the scale and pace at which AI is already shaping how people access healthcare. While the opportunities are significant, it also highlights concerns about safety and accountability.
“When something goes wrong with AI, responsibility is often placed on clinicians, even where they have limited control over how AI tools are introduced. To realise AI’s potential, we need greater transparency about what works, what is safe, how decisions are made, and how issues are handled – so staff and patients can feel confident in its use.”
