News Release
21 October 2014 – For immediate release
Quadron and Volunteers give Wexham Hospital’s gardens some TLC
Twenty corporate volunteers from O2 Telefonica joined the Quadron team in the grounds of Wexham Park Hospital in Slough on 22 September to carry out improvements to the hospital’s kitchen courtyard and garden.
The day was part of a programme of corporate volunteering events organised at the hospital by Quadron’s Development Team, the hospital’s Fund Raising and Volunteers Manager, Mike Stone, and the Slough Business Community Partnership (SBCP).
Under the guidance of the Quadron team, the volunteers set to work clearing weeds from the courtyard’s brick paving, re-planting pots and planters and fixing new wooden edging around the shrub bed. The plants and materials were funded by O2 under their ‘Day of Caring’ scheme, with some additional plants also being donated by Quadron via the RHS Re-use Scheme. Quadron also provided tools and PPE and demonstrations of their safe use.
The volunteers worked extremely hard and by the end of the afternoon the courtyard had been transformed into a tidier, more welcoming space for the hospital’s staff, patients and visitors.
Mike Stone, the hospital’s Fundraising and Volunteer Manager, commented: “There has been a long and mutually beneficial relationship between Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and O2. Teams from many different departments have come in and worked on many different courtyards and gardens within Wexham Park Hospital. This latest project was one of the largest yet.
“Thanks must go to all those who took part and thanks to Quadron for organising and managing the day with the corporate volunteers. It is the enthusiasm and generosity of companies such as O2 that allow us to improve the surroundings of the hospital for patients, visitors and staff.”
The event on 22 September was followed by another successful volunteer session on 29 September, with a six-person team from Mars Chocolate UK. The enthusiastic team spent the afternoon in the Paragon Suite Courtyard where they worked with the Quadron team to prune shrubbery, replant planters and lay a Mypex weed-proof membrane to the shrub beds.
The volunteers very much enjoyed the experience and Chris Taylor from Mars Chocolate UK said: “Improving the courtyard garden for the Paragon Suite at Wexham Park Hospital was a great chance to give something back to the hospital that cared so well for a close relative of mine. Volunteering through our Mars in the Community Scheme, with the help of SBCP and Quadron, gave everyone in our team the opportunity to make a real difference for the staff and patients who will hopefully soon be enjoying the revamped garden.”
Claire Marshall, Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital’s Associate Director of Patient Experience and Public Involvement, added: “I am delighted that Mars Volunteers have once again chosen Wexham Park Hospital to give their time to improve the gardens. Enhancing the outside spaces makes a positive difference to both patient and staff experience. Some of our wards look out over this particular garden, which has been unloved for some time. The changes will have an immediate impact. Thank you from the patients and staff at Heatherwood and Wexham Park hospitals.
“Thanks also to Quadron for their support in organising and managing such events and the donation of materials from RHS Hampton Court, all helping to liven up the courtyard and improve patient and staff experience at the hospital.”
Andrew Kauffman, Quadron’s Corporate Development Manager, who has organised and led many of the volunteering sessions, says of the programme to date: “Working in partnership with the NHS Hospital Trust and Slough Business Partnership, Quadron’s Development Team has been able to prioritise tasks in key courtyards throughout Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital, making improvements to both hard and soft landscapes.
“The improvements that have been made so far with input from corporate volunteers have been amazing and make a real difference to these areas, which are used by patients, hospital staff and visitors alike, and so improve the hospital experience for all.”
Quadron is continuing to work in partnership with the hospital and Slough Business Community Partnership to co-ordinate an ongoing programme of corporate volunteering events, including working with N20 to transform an area outside the paediatric unit into a country scene, complete with (wooden) sheep!
The O2 volunteers clear vegetation from the kitchen courtyard
The Mars UK volunteers with one of their newly planted troughs
Ends
Notes to editors:
About Quadron Services
Formed in 1993, Quadron Services is an award-winning green space management company focussed on ‘Cultivating Sustainable Green Communities’.
Quadron has carried out grounds maintenance services for Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since November 2012.
Quadron’s other clients include The Royal Boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Kingston upon Thames, The London Boroughs of Southwark and Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth, Charnwood and Wokingham Borough Councils, Croydon Council, Wycombe District Council, Birmingham City Council, Bristol City Council, Teignbridge District Council and Paragon Community Housing Association.
Quadron’s Managing Director is Clive Ivil.
General contact details – Head Office: Quadron Services Ltd, The Hub, Warne Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 3UU.
Tel: 01934 614444
E-mail:
Web: www.quadronservices.co.uk
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