Lee Harkness raises funds for dementia unit garden by cycling from John o’ Groats to Land’s End

Staff with Lee Harkness at the Quiet Room of the Oasis Unit

Clinical Psychologist Lee Harkness has raised £1,753 for the Oasis Unit at Rochdale Infirmary by cycling from John o’ Groats to Land’s End.

The traditional distance by road is 874 miles (1,407 km) and takes most cyclists ten to fourteen days. However, Lee and two of his friends completed the distance in just nine days, cycling an average of 110 miles a day.

The funds will go towards creating an outside space for patients at the Oasis Unit, which expanded in May this year. Able to house up to ten patients at a time, the unit offers acute medical patients with dementia and confusion who present, or who are referred to the Infirmary, with a safe and suitable purpose-built environment to support recovery and access to nursing and mental health staff.

The space will use an ‘un-adopted’ piece of land at the Infirmary and plans have been designed using the patients’ ideas, including a music wall and bowling lane, plus a heated seating area for winter.

Louisa Harkness-Hudson, Lead Nurse for the unit, and Lee’s sister, hopes the garden will be renovated in time for summer 2018 for the patients to enjoy.

She said: “Lee decided to do this as the unit cared for our nan, who sadly passed away in September. He saw first-hand how the Oasis unit cares for patients with dementia with a bespoke environment and cater for their needs. He saw the benefits and how beneficial the outside space will be for them.”