Published on: 17th June 2016
Three patients from a mental health unit in Lincoln have completed their Level 3 Supervising Food Safety in Catering as part of a therapeutical programme offered by staff.
Charlotte, Jay and Adam all volunteer at Coffee Beanz - a non-profit café run by staff and patients from Discovery House, Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s mental health rehabilitation unit. Together with three staff members – Joanne Davies, Stefan Lalka and Debbie Barker - patients have gained this nationally recognised qualification which futureproofs them for life outside the ward.
Last year patients celebrated passing their Level 2 Food Safety in Catering. Completing Level 3 was the next step up to being able to supervise others in catering and hospitality settings and gaining skills that will help them to reintegrate into the community.
Debbie Barker, a nursing assistant who oversees the café, said:
I’m proud that our service users and staff progressed to Level 3. It wasn’t easy as we needed to sit a two-hour exam and since some of us haven’t completed any training for a while it was a challenging, but confidence boosting experience. I’d like to especially congratulate Adam – a patient who achieved his qualification with merit.
Adam, a service user who helps out at the café, said he hoped that this qualification and work experience will help him move on in the future.
Recovering from mental illness can be challenging as you lose confidence in yourself but thanks to volunteering at the café, learning new skills and interacting with customers I feel more at ease when thinking about going back home.
Studying for this qualification and passing the exam with merit means a lot to me and fills me with confidence that I am progressing with my recovery.
Donna Bradford, service manager for mental health rehabilitation, said:
Education and training play an important role in helping people overcome mental illness. The Level 3 certificate is just a part of the programme of therapeutical activities that we offer at Discovery House which aims to build people’s resilience and help them progress with their recovery journey.
We want to empower service users to embrace an opportunity of learning new skills and gaining control of their life by putting these skills into practice when working in our café and beyond.
Coffee Beanz is open to the public and serves food from 9.00-16.30. Service users and staff welcome everyone to come for a snack and a chat.
