The transformation of a corridor in a north London hospital has been dramatic. Thanks to the King’s Fund’s Enhancing the Healing Environment program, what was once a drab, depressing and dirty area has been converted into a colorful, cheerful and clean space.


North Middlesex is one of the 32 London acute trusts to take part in the Enhancing the Healing Environment program, which encourages and enables nurse-led teams to influence and improve the environment in which they deliver care.


The program has been such a success that it has already been extended to all eleven of London’s mental health trusts and five of its primary care trusts. It is now spreading to 23 more NHS trusts, one in each strategic health authority, throughout the country.


The initial £2 million project was inspired and launched by Prince Charles, president of the King’s Fund, in 2001.


As he says in his book A Vision for Britain: “It can’t be easy to be healed in a soulless concrete box with characterless windows, in hospitable corridors, and purely functional wards. The spirit needs healing as well as the body.”


Each trust had to make a physical improvement in an area used by patients and any changes had to promote patient well-being and foster a healing environment.


Each team was given a £35,000 grant to carry out the work, although many obtained extra funding from hospital charities, voluntary organisations and trust boards.


An evaluation of the program, published in December, revealed significant long-term benefits resulting from improved hospital settings, including:

• reducing vandalism and violence against staff


• helping patients recuperate faster


• creating a positive ambience and feelings of calmness and well-being


• improving staff morale and motivation


• helping staff recruitment and retention