Published on: 13th May 2015
A new activity hub has been officially opened on Monday 11 May 2015 by Dr John Brewin, Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive and Michelle Persaud, Director of Nursing and Quality, to coincide with the start of Mental Health Awareness Week (11-17 May).
The Hub, at Peter Hodgkinson Centre, will give patients staying on the acute mental health wards in Lincoln the opportunity to take part in activities away from the ward environment, which will aid in their on-going recovery.
This year’s mental health awareness week, organised by the Mental Health Foundation, is promoting the benefits of mindfulness in maintaining mental wellbeing. Taking part in activities we enjoy is a key theme of mindfulness. Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) hopes that the new facility will give people staying on the wards somewhere safe to go and have fun.
The unit has been able to purchase a wide range of activities including: an Xbox Kinect, musical instruments, retro table video games, table tennis, pool table and table football. There is also a seating area where patients can enjoy a film in the evening on the new projector and screen.
Gill Hunt, Team Leader for Acute Services at LPFT said:
Inpatient areas can become hectic with lots of people experiencing problems being located within a relatively small shared space. Increasing opportunities for people to spend time away from the ward can help to reduce intensity. The Hub gives somewhere safe to go to engage in social and recreational activities; but also contributes therapeutically to their recovery too.
Clare Newport, Activities Coordinator on Charlesworth Ward, said:
Patients have been involved in every stage of planning of the hub and this is what makes it great. Service users told us what they wanted to be included in there. We are really looking forward to having another space we can use. We have organised a whole week of activities to celebrate the opening, including some mindfulness and yoga tasting sessions, table football tournament and animal interactions.
The funding from Health Education East Midlands (HEEM) was awarded to the Trust to enable some of its student nurses and occupational therapists to get involved in inter-professional learning. The students found out what staff and patients wanted from the area and then worked with the management team to make this a reality.
Milli, a first year student nurse, said she’d really enjoyed the opportunity to see a project through from concept to delivery and provide something that was really going to make a difference.
The area was very rarely used and needed improving to draw life back into the space. We got lots of great ideas by talking to staff and patients and everyone was really excited. Whilst it has been useful towards our studies, it is also great to leave something meaningful in place.
