A HOSPITAL’S garden for its patients with dementia has been completely transformed thanks to a group of Black Country business people.

The green space at Rowley Regis Hospital has been revamped after employees from West Bromwich Building Society joined forces with the Your Trust Charity.

They gutted the garden at the site and set about creating a dementia-friendly space, with the carefully chosen colours orange and blue which help to stimulate sufferers, while also planting sensory plants including lavender and violas – all within a day.

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Jan Sanders, retail manager for the building society’s Dudley branches, said: “It was very important for me to be here as my father died in May after a battle with Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

“I believe having a sensory garden for the patients makes a huge difference to them and gives them a perfect place not just to relax but to rest and recuperate.”

The partnership came about after the building society contacted Your Trust Charity, which is run by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, to offer support in any projects that would benefit dementia patients.

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Amanda Winwood, membership academy and fundraising manager for Your Trust Charity, said: “When we saw the garden we knew we could make a difference to it. It needed clearing and brightening up so our patients could make much more use of it.

“The plan was to use dementia friendly colours on the fence and furniture along with introducing a sensory area and raised beds to make it easier for patients to look after the plants, as part of their occupational therapy.

“The transformation is amazing and throughout the day patients were coming out to see what we were up to and commented how different it looks.

“We want to thank employees from the building society for all their help and dedication in this project.”