Hollie Allan was 29 and had not seen the sky for two months.
Her bed came out of the elevator onto the rooftop of King’s College Hospital in south London, and the sun shone straight into her face. The nurses had warned her: “Get ready for the cold!”. She smiled, and then the tears came. “It’s so beautiful. I forgot what it feels like to be outdoors”, she said, wiping her eyes, still connected to feeding tubes and life support.
She was the first patient to try the UK’s first outdoor intensive care ward. It has space for six beds, and beside each one is a waterproof box containing power and oxygen, so even the most critically ill patients can be outside without losing any of their care. Hollie is awaiting heart surgery and had already been too ill to go outside before she was admitted.
For doctors, this could be a new way to heal: not just saving lives, but giving them back. “We want to get them back to their lives as quickly as possible”, says Dr Phil Hopkins, who measures pulse, breathing and pain to see whether fresh air speeds up recovery.
Hollie is certain: “Even if there were a storm, I’d be here”.
