Fairy story adds touch of magic to hospital visits at Scarborough Hospital

Unique, hand-crafted pieces have been created and donated to Rainbow Ward at Scarborough Hospital to create a magical garden with fairies, hidden alcoves and wind chimes for the children.

The pieces were created by patients at Foss Park Hospital in York by using materials foraged on nature walks and donated by local businesses.

Carla Kelly, activity co-ordinator at Foss Park, which is run by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It has been a really lovely project to work on.

“We are always looking for new ideas for activities, especially for creating things that have a purpose, and the fairy theme came up. It sounded like a magical idea – and it really was.”

Work on the project started in June last year – when a fairy workshop was set up in the sensory room for Minster Ward at Foss Park. It immediately attracted great interest.

Carla said: “So many patients wanted to get involved, which was really nice. Knowing that the finished fairy garden was going to be donated to a children’s ward was a real draw.”

Carla worked alongside artist Griselda Goldsbrough, art and design development manager at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, on the magical project.

The pair regularly team up to create artwork and murals around the Foss Park site – but developing the fairy tale garden was a completely different type of project for them both.

“It was Carla’s idea to work on something that had a purpose, like fairy ornaments, and I suggested it would fit in with a garden project we were doing at Scarborough,” said Griselda.

“The aim was to make something magical for children to enjoy while they are poorly.

“What the patients at Foss Park have produced is far beyond what we ever imagined or expected.”

Each of the fairies took several hours to make, with foraged items – such as pieces of word, stones and leaves – used to make the magical models completely unique.READ MORE: Emergency care centre plans at Scarborough Hospital ‘on schedule’