King's College opens UK's first rooftop intensive-care ward
scienceMay 29, 20261252
King's College Hospital in London has opened the UK's first rooftop intensive-care ward, an outdoor critical-care roof garden that gives seriously ill patients supervised time outside. Medical teams will monitor patients' vital signs and recovery outcomes while they sit or recline in the garden to assess effects of fresh-air exposure. The initiative will collect data on mobility, breathing, mood and delirium to test whether this low-cost intervention speeds physical and emotional recovery. If results are positive, the rooftop ICU could influence hospital design by offering a simple way to boost patient recovery and wellbeing.
