The VR headsets bringing nature to terminally ill patients at a Wiltshire care home

The idea for the virtual forests came about during the covid pandemic.

A hospice in Bradford-on-Avon is working with Forestry England to bring the sounds and sights of nature to terminally ill patients.

Dorothy House Hospice Care is offering a series of virtual reality videos to those who are unable to go outdoors.

Simon Barker, one of those benefitting from the project, said: "This is just one very small part of the support that I've got over the last 12 months. And it is almost 12 months to the day since my tumour was diagnosed.

"I can't understate how important it's been for my own mental health and wellbeing. And this this is the icing on the cake being able to get this off back to a beach and get yourself back to a forest.

The sights and sounds of nature are being brought indoors thanks to technology. Credit: Forestry England

"It just transports you away and you can feel your anxiety reducing. You can feel your heart rate reducing because you're focusing on stuff that, you know, before you took for granted - now is so precious."

Michael Child said: "I think it just just changes the focus. You know, you're not focusing on worries and anxieties. You're just focusing on the on the scene with the voice in the background.

"So it helps you just sort of calm down a bit."

The idea of the virtual forests came about during the covid pandemic when Forestry England created the videos for people to enjoy in lockdown.

Ellen Devine, from Forestry England, said: "To see them used in a setting with people who are talking about how much they benefit from that virtual experience is just incredible.

"I've spent a lot of time as a patient in hospital over the last year or so, and I know how difficult it can be when you're in that hospital bed, and you can't get out and breathe in the fresh air in nature.

Terminally ill patients have been benefitting from the headsets. Credit: ITV News

"So being able to give something that brings some of those benefits, even if it's sort of watching them on a phone or even better in the actual virtual reality world, it's just so important to be able to do that for people."Jade Crombie, a nurse at Dorothy House Hospice Care, is part of the team researching how these VR headsets can help reduce pain and anxiety.

She said: "We've been conducting research mostly looking at pain, anxiety and how it improves pre and then post the VR.

"And we've seen an improvement in both."