A memorial rose garden has opened at Northwick Park Hospital in memory of staff who lost loved ones during the pandemic.
Nicky Palmer came up with the idea after being struck by how many colleagues at the Watford Road hospital were unable to be with their families or attend funerals.
Nicky, who works in the Bowel Cancer Screening Centre, said: “I, like so many of my colleagues, volunteered to work in intensive care during the first wave.
"Things were so busy we didn’t have time to sit down with colleagues who’d suffered a family bereavement which is sad because the NHS is a second family for many of us."
Friends and colleagues donated money towards nine rose bushes while the hospital’s estates team oversaw the creation of a large NHS heart shaped memorial situated in the hospital garden.
The roses’ names are Mum in a Million, My Lovely Dad and Golden Memories, Lovely Lady, Edwards Rose, Blessings, Remembrance, Sentimental and For you with Love.
Nicky added: "I just wanted them to know that their work family care and wanted to create a place where people can spend some quiet time when they need to."
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