STORY: London’s King’s College Hospital said it has opened the UK’s first rooftop garden for critical care patients.

A 29- year-old critical care patient, Hollie Allan, reliant on feeding tubes, became the first patient to use the new outdoor ward at the hospital on Thursday (May 28).

Sitting above the hospital’s critical care unit, the outdoor rooftop ward can accommodate up to six beds, allowing patients to received full life support outside, including power and oxygen supplies, while having access to nature.

The £2 million project, funded largely by King’s College Hospital Charity, is aimed at “improving patient wellbeing” and “humanising intensive care” King’s College hospital said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

London hospital says it has opened UK's first rooftop intensive care ward

VIDEO SHOWS: NEWLY OPENED ROOFTOP WARD AT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON HOSPITAL, WHICH IS USED FOR CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS / CRITICAL CARE PATIENT USING THE ROOFTOP WARD / SOUNDBITES FROM PATIENT, CRITICAL CARE CONSULTANT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF KING'S COLLEGE HOSPITAL

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 28, 2026) (BBC - No use UK)

1. CRITICAL CARE PATIENT, HOLLIE ALLAN, IN BED BEING MOVED TO GO OUTSIDE ONTO ROOFTOP WARD

2. (MUTE) DRONE VIEW OF ROOFTOP WARD

3. DRONE VIEW OF ROOFTOP WARD

4. TREES ON ROOFTOP

5. VARIOUS OF ALLAN BEING PUSHED OUTSIDE INTO ROOFTOP WARD IN HOSPITAL BED / ALLAN SAYING (English): "Wow, oh it's lovely. Oh it's so lovely"

6. VARIOUS OF ALLAN ON ROOFTOP WARD / ALLAN SAYING (English): "Oh it's sunny as well. It's lovely."

7. PLANTS ON ROOFTOP

8. ALLAN ON ROOFTOP

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CRITICAL CARE PATIENT, HOLLIE ALLAN, 29, SAYING (SOUNDBITE BEGINS ON PREVIOUS SHOT):

"I think it gives you a real boost to keep on going when you're stuck inside all day. There's no motivation to really you know try and get back to normal life. Oh, it does. It feels lovely. I don't want to leave."

10. PLANTS IN ROOFTOP WARD GARDEN

11. HAND WITH FLOWER

12. ROOFTOP WARD GARDEN

13. ALLAN OUTSIDE IN BED WITH CRITICAL CARE CONSULTANT, PHIL HOPKINS

14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CRITICAL CARE CONSULTANT, PHIL HOPKINS, SAYING (SOUNDBITE BEGINS ON PREVIOUS SHOT):

"It's going to be absolutely critical to the NHS going forward because a lot of what we do is about rehabilitation, saving people's lives as I said, but making sure that when they leave intensive care, they leave in a way that A) they're not going to come back and B) that they are returning to their normal lives in the best possible shape."

15. VARIOUS OF ROOFTOP GARDEN

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF KING'S COLLEGE HOSPITAL, CLIVE KAY, SAYING (SOUNDBITE BEGINS ON PREVIOUS SHOT):

"It will certainly improve the patient experience and hopefully, and we'll carry out a lot of research into this, will demonstrate that we can improve that patient care, we can reduce their length of stay with subsequent wider benefits as we hopefully roll this out across the NHS."

17. VARIOUS OF ALLAN AND STAFF ON ROOFTOP WARD