Published on: 14th December 2015
Six patients from a mental health unit in Lincoln have received thumbs up for their food hygiene skills by successfully passing Level 2 in Food Safety in Catering.
Charlotte, Amob, Tania, Adam, Richard and Jay have been volunteering 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. They have now gained a nationally recognised qualification as part of a therapeutical programme offered at the unit.
Donna Bradford, service manager for mental health rehabilitation, said:
At Discovery House we believe that education and training play an important part in helping people to overcome mental health difficulties. We want to provide our service users with skills that will help them to reintegrate into the community. The Level 2 certificate is just a part of the overall experience service users get when volunteering at the café.
Deb Barker, a nursing assistant who oversees the café, said:
I was so proud that all of the service users passed the exam that it nearly brought me to tears. This gives them such a great boost to much needed confidence, especially since some have not completed any training for a while.
Charlotte, a service user, said:
I have learned skills that will help me to move on in the future. It feels great to be a part of the group and achieve something together. Working in the café and training is not only a distraction from the ward routine but also helps me to believe in myself again and puts me at ease when thinking about going back home.
Jay, another service user who also helps out at the café, said:
When working in the café I get to talk to customers and interact with people I don’t know – something that have would been unthinkable to me a few months ago. We also learn to use the till and handle the money and I hope these skills together with my Level 2 certificate will help me to move on when I leave Discovery House.
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.
