So last year the height of the abseil just wasn't enough for me. This June 20th I'm going to free fall out of a plane at 13,000ft! With the amazing help of everyone last year on the children's garden at Colchester hospital, this year we have another project at Ipswich hospital to build a beautiful Time Garden! This is such a crucial facility and there is one at Colchester but not Ipswich and our Suffolk patients deserve the same. I'm hoping to raise at least a £1,000 to support the £300k target in 2026. Anything you can give will be greatly appreciated!

The Time Garden at Ipswich Hospital is being created to provide a homely, comforting space, away from the busy hospital environment, so people facing the end of their life can spend time with those they love – somewhere time truly matters. This space will be somewhere for sensitive conversations, reflection and lasting memories, at a time when hope and positivity may feel lost. By donating, you can help us improve the experience of end-of-life and loss.

When someone is dying, what often matters most to them is comfort and spending quality time with their loved ones – time that truly matters. Time to hold hands. Time to make decisions. Time to make lasting memories. Time to say goodbye. This is because end-of-life care affects everyone going through it: the dying, the living and the bereaved.

But often, in hospital, there is no personal space for that quality time. The only place patients and their loved ones have is the ward, which is clinical, noisy and busy.

That’s why, Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity is launching this fundraising appeal to build a longed-for Time Garden at Ipswich Hospital – a dedicated, peaceful space for when time truly matters. Somewhere accessible, beautiful and restful where minds will calm and time can stand still.

Located close to the wards at Ipswich hospital, sits a secluded courtyard. With your help, it will transform into a brand-new dedicated space for our patients facing end-of-life, and their loved ones. At its heart will be a spacious, glass-fronted wooden cabin, big enough for a hospital bed and a family gathering. It will be a homely escape, complete with soft comforting furnishings and an all-important kettle, which feels a mile away from the hospital ward and brings the outside in. If, together, we can raise the funds needed, we can turn the neglected inaccessible pebbled ground into a beautiful and vibrant accessible garden rich in nature.

Here's why a time garden at Ipswich Hospital is needed now:

A time Garden at Ipswich Hospital will provide non-clinical, therapeutic, uplifting space, above and beyond what the NHS would usually deliver

It will be a private space where nature can have a powerful positive effect and end-of-life patients and their families can just ‘be’. It will be a place to share stories, listen to music and remember special moments.

The Time Garden will be completely accessible and safe for all patients, including those in wheelchairs and those who are bedbound, so they can hear bees buzzing, smell the sweet scent of rain and feel the sun on their skin.

Each season will bring its own beauty as the garden glows with gold in the autumn, glistens with frost in the winter, buds with promise in the spring and bursts vibrantly into colour in the summer months.

The Time Garden will be a place where those who are important can spend precious time together, such as partners, children and pets, making it feel ‘normal’ and home-from-home.

Special features like a Bluetooth sound system will enhance the space with music and traditional games and puzzles will provide fun and mindful activities.

In addition to those receiving end-of-life care, the garden may also be made available to others experiencing loss at the hospital

By donating to our appeal, you can help us improve the experience of end-of-life and loss by creating a dedicated space for quality time between patients and their loved ones.

Every moment matters. Every donation counts.

Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity raises money to improve facilities, fund new equipment, provide additional services, support staff development and initiate local medical research and innovative projects at The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.