In the Built Environment

Unfortunately natural space is not equally distributed. Marginalised sections of the population such as people in prisons, hospitals, mental health wards and older people are often unable to get to green space.

Those individuals and communities who could benefit most from contact with nature and green exercise are often least able to access it. There is also a marked relationship between lack of green space in urban areas and levels of stress.

The NHS can help to address this issue by:

• Providing green spaces on the NHS estate, including hospitals and community health centres
• Supporting smaller practices, such as GP surgeries, to develop local green spaces and also to support and provide input into the development of larger community spaces
• Working with local authorities to increase the provision of, and improve access to, local green spaces.

The NATURAL HEALTH SERVICE CONCORDAT suggests that all NHS organisations work to

• Support planners and policy makers to ensure that there is high quality public green space near to where people live and work.
• Encourage people to make the best use of this local public green space by promoting schemes that provide new opportunities to connect people to their local natural environment.
• Promote and disseminate research into the health benefits of the natural environment and ensure that local, national and international research agendas are aligned to help us understand the mechanisms behind the health benefits of green space and how these benefits can be fully realised.
• Partner the NHS and local authorities with organisations that promote local green space to benefit both staff and patients – promoting this engagement through local strategic partnerships, local area agreements and the third sector.

CABE (the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space) produces a series of tool kits and guidance information on developing green spaces.