Jim Carpenter's family raised £9,445 at a Starcross Fun Day after his weeks in intensive care, for a £160,000 RD&E garden for ICU patients and families.

The family of a Starcross man who spent weeks in intensive care at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital this summer have raised £9,445 towards a garden where critically ill patients can be taken outside.

Jim Carpenter, 70, developed sepsis after emergency surgery in June and spent weeks fighting for his life in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), according to Royal Devon Hospitals Charity. The retired window cleaner and grandfather of 12 went home three months later.

While he was still in hospital, his family saw a banner for the charity’s ICU Garden Appeal and decided to back it. They held a Fun Day at the Starcross Royal British Legion in September, and last week Jim, his children and grandchildren went back to the hospital in Wonford to hand over the cheque to ICU staff and see how the garden is coming along.

“Far from ideal”

His son Ben said the family were grateful for the “outstanding” care, compassion and dedication of the ICU team.

“They supported not only our dad, but our entire family, with kindness, professionalism and genuine compassion.

“We spent many hours in the hospital and spotted a banner about the appeal and felt like the fundraiser was the perfect way to give something back to the incredible team who have given so much to our family.

“Dad was taken outside on two or three occasions but it was far from ideal and we all agreed what a difference a garden would make.”

What the garden is for

The appeal’s target is £160,000, to turn an unused corner of the RD&E into a green space for ICU patients who cannot leave their hospital bed. Work began in the summer. Once it is finished, staff will be able to take patients outside together with the medical equipment they depend on, so they can spend time in the open air with their families.

Andrew Lockwood, the ICU Garden Project Lead, said:

“For people fighting for their lives in Intensive Care, days can stretch into weeks without ever feeling the sun or breathing fresh air. This garden will change that.

“We know that an accessible outside space like this will make such a big difference to our patients and studies show that it can help speed up their recovery.

“Unfortunately, this type of space just isn’t possible with NHS funding so we are very grateful to the local community for their kind support.”

Debbie Allen, the charity’s community fundraiser, welcomed the family back to the hospital:

“Jim’s family have done an incredible job and it’s thanks to support like theirs that this wonderful project is becoming a reality.

“It was very special to see Jim and his children and grandchildren present their fundraising cheque to ICU staff. It has been a challenging and emotional few months for the family and it was also a lovely moment for them to be able to come back to the hospital to see progress on the garden and to thank staff for the incredible care that Jim had received.”

About the charity

Royal Devon Hospitals Charity (registered charity 1061384) is the new name for the former Over and Above and RD&E charities, which joined forces after the Royal Devon and Exeter and Northern Devon trusts merged in April 2022. It runs more than 250 funds supporting the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s hospitals and services across north, mid and east Devon, paying for equipment, facilities, staff training and research beyond what NHS funding covers.

Its other current RD&E appeal, the Light Beam Appeal, is raising £835,000 for radiotherapy equipment.

You can give to the ICU garden through the appeal’s donation page, and the charity has published its own account of the Carpenter family’s visit. More on its work is at royaldevoncharity.org.uk.