RIE staff wellbeing courtyard

NHS Lothian @ Edinburgh BioQuarter

Find out about the about green health opportunities across the BioQuarter

The BioQuarter is home to the the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN). This 167-acre site is connected to some of the best greenspaces in Edinburgh.

Across these three hospitals, NHS Lothian provides a full range of acute medical and surgical services, over three thousand NHS staff work onsite and support patients from across Lothian and beyond, this makes it one of the most important healthcare settings in Scotland.

Working together with staff and partners on site we are delivering range of Green Health projects to improve health and wellbeing and increase biodiversity.

Ria’s story

At just 23-years-old, Ria O’Hanlan found herself in hospital fighting for her life. The occupational therapy student went from experiencing back pain, to collapsing on the floor and being diagnosed with an aortic aneurism, her lungs filled with blood. The game-changer came with a visit to the hospital garden, at the insistence of one of the nurses.

Read Ria’s story
RIE Panda Courtyard bunting

What’s happening on site

Rehabilitation Ranger Lou EvansOur Nature Rehabilitation Ranger, Lou Evans, works with patients and staff on site two days a week. With over 20 years of experience in therapeutic and community settings, Lou focuses on creating a connection between nature and the hospital environment to benefit patients, staff, and the wider community. She’s enthusiastic about working with staff and patients and collaborating with those on site to use the hospital’s green spaces to promote health and wellbeing and improve biodiversity.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Lou has a number of engagement programmes coming up at the Royal Infirmary, including regular nature-focussed wellbeing walks for staff at lunch time, bespoke programme of nature based-growing activities to take directly to staff teams, and reaching out to staff who want to co design nature based toolkits for their patient work.

Find out what’s on by visiting the events pages of our website.

Anyone wanting to know more/support this work, get in touch by emailing: [email protected]

NHS Lothian staff planting containers at the entrance to the Royal Infirmary of EdinburghA huge thank you to everyone who came out to help us plant these beautiful containers at the entrance and create a more welcoming and calming environment for patients, visitors and staff as they enter the hospital. Everyone who participated also learned some useful tips about container gardening that they can take home and use to create their own beautiful outdoor spaces. Thanks also go to Caledonian Horticulture for the generous donation of compost for this activity.

NHS Lothian staff planting spring bulbs at the Royal Infirmary of EdinburghWell done to everyone who braved the colder weather and helped us plant4,000 crocus bulbs alongside the wellbeing walk. These will provide a pop of colour in early spring and much-needed nectar for bees. We can’t wait to see them spring up!

Staff being shown no soil growing techniquesEven as the days shortened and the temperatures dropped, Lou was able to show staff what opportunities exist indoors to unwind and connect with nature. Her no soil growing workshop with renal and liver support service provided an engaging indoor activity to enhance wellbeing and demonstrate sustainable and space-efficient gardening practices.

three members of NHS Lothian staff presenting their festive garlands to the cameraWe also got into the festive spirit, leading 30-minute workshops on how to make and decorate simple garlands and table decorations from natural materials. We were delighted to see all the creativity and provide an activity where staff could take a much-deserved break from work to enjoy themselves and unwind.

“It was nice to switch off for a bit and do something creative and also have something nice to take home from the day, especially on the back of high pressure/demand work that can sometimes just feel like firefighting.”

proposed design for the panda courtyardFollowing a series of consultation events with staff, we are progressing work on the staff wellbeing courtyard.

The Staff Courtyard at OPD6 will be focused on Staff Wellbeing at Work, providing private and relaxing spaces surrounded in lovely greenery.

Plans are progressing with the development of the garden. Permission to build the garden has now been secured from EQUANS and the team are finalising the designs. Staff joined us in the garden for a winter warmer to see the plans and ask any question they might have.

proposed design for staff courtyardThe Panda Courtyard will continue to focus on patient activities such as gardening and low impact movement with the surrounding gardening to stimulate the senses. We have completed design options for enhancements of the Panda Courtyard and are working with teams on site to look at how these can be implemented.

example of planting by HinterlandWork is commencing on designs for how we can enhance this peaceful space at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.

Explore the green spaces round the BioQuarter

Royal Infirmary Edinburghfrom the air
An aerial view of the Edinburgh BioQuarter

Little France Park is located to the east of the Royal Infirmary, and is most easily accessed from the hospital at an entrance which starts at the top of Car Park 2C. You can also access it by walking from the hospital main entrance to Old Dalkeith Road and walking along the road until you see a small bridge on the left. See the map of the site below:

It has a variety of habitats to explore, such as woodland, wetland, grassland and wildflower meadows which supports an array of wildlife such as butterflies, birds and bees.

There are wide hard surfaced paths in the park (paths marked in purple on the map), making it easy to access. In the above Little France Park map there are suggested walking routes. There are also benches, providing places to rest, relax and enjoy the views.

Although the north side of the slope is more easily accessed from the hospital, we would highly recommend visiting the south side if you have time as it offers spectacular views of the sea, Edinburgh Castle, Craigmillar Castle and Arthur’s Seat.

There are interpretation panels which provide a map of the site as well as interesting information on its history and wildlife.

You can find more detailed information on the map here: www.innertubemap.com/little-france/

There are also Little France Park Cycleways Innertube Maps available to pick up at the main reception to the hospital, as well as at the BioQuarter (5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU).

Discover walking routes from the hospital with the Go Jauntly

Find new walking tours based on your location. Simple photo guides help you navigate while nifty tips point out things of interest. Sign up to walking challenges or enjoy green routes from A to B or circular walking routes. Take pictures, add details that other people may find useful and share with the growing community.

Download the App
4 people walking along a path holding tea mugs