Patients, guests and visitors have a new outdoor healing environment St Peter’s Hospital.

Surrey garden designer Richard Jackson has designed a new garden in the hospital grounds, which includes a sculpture called Lightwaves, created by Surrey artist Duncan Bell.

Members of Surrey Sculpture Society, the hospital’s arts committee and councillors from Runnymede Council joined the Mayor of Runnymede, Councillor Margaret Roberts, to officially open the new garden on April 11.

Dr Peter Wilkinson, chairman of the trust’s arts committee who commissioned the sculpture, said: “I feel very strongly that we should offer our patients a healing environment when they come into hospital.

“Clinical areas are often rather stark and cold and the addition of artwork can really help in softening that.”

Trust chairman Aileen McLeish said: “Up until now we’ve had very little outside seating for our patients and visitors, and the work we’ve been doing to re-site our main bus stop closer to the hospital entrance has given us the perfect opportunity to change that.”