Despite heavy rain outside, the taste of summer and ‘cocktails’ was sampled by patients in the mental health unit at Forth Valley Royal Hospital when a Fiesta came to the wards to mark the end of a five year arts project to enhance surroundings.

The centrepiece was a bike which blended smoothies through pedal power, and musicians from Hospital Notes played a selection of numbers to encourage patients to dance. The recipe for the smoothie, known as Flamingo Surprise, was a mixture of strawberries, mangos, a squeeze of honey and milk.

The past few years have seen pictures painted in corridors, acoustic spaces created where people can sit to enjoy peace and quiet, and colour strips on walls to identify different wards. The theme has been strata–different minerals and materials- in adult wards and natural/botanicals in accommodation for older people.