PARTNERSHIPS in Care (PiC) has announced the results of this year’s ‘Green Fingers’ competition.

Patients at Llanarth Court hospital have been commended for their flower gardens and patients at Aderyn have been awarded runner up in the Transformation of the Year Award.

PiC’s Green Fingers initiative encourages patients to consider several horticultural categories and work together or independently to produce entries to the competition which is judged at the end of the summer.

The initiative has run at PiC for several years and every year it sees patients enjoy the rewards of their efforts and involvement in the garden.

The teams work together in deciding which category to enter, and meet weekly or more to agree what they wish to achieve and the steps and responsibilities they need to take to get there.

The categories consider all aspects of horticulture, including ‘best transformation’, ‘best home grown meal’ and ‘best outdoor sculpture’ as well as ‘community garden of the year’.

Adele Walters, occupational therapist at Llanarth Court, said: “Patients on several wards at Llanarth Court took part in the initiative. They have worked hard to create gardens that offer flower displays with different shaped leaves, colours and textures in order for people to gain a complete sensory experience from this area.

“Patients got a lot of pleasure out of engaging in the various tasks and reported a great sense of satisfaction in the finished results; they have also enjoyed capturing the success of their work in photo albums.”

Joy Chamberlain, group chief executive, said: “Our annual Green Fingers initiative continues to be very popular with both patients and the hospital teams.

“I am very proud of the patient involvement with this annual competition and the results demonstrate the achievements of patients and hospital staff who have really excelled in the initiative this year, and the impact it has had on their recovery.”

The winning teams will receive £100 and the runner up teams £50 and a certificate.