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New reflective space for patients at
the Scarisbrick Unit
THE Scarisbrick inpatient mental health
unit in Ormskirk officially opened its newly developed reflective space for
patients at an event with representatives from charitable organisations and
healthcare professionals.
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust's inpatient mental health unit in Ormskirk
officially opened:- 'The Green Room' which will provide a space for
patients to relax, wind down, have a chat or use as a religious or spiritual
environment. The Green Room was officially opened, on Tuesday, 26 September
2017, and
will be accessed by the unit's patients as part of their recovery as well as
members of staff.
The initiative for The Green Room was developed by members of staff from the
Occupational Therapy service who recognised that patients are not always well
enough to access the existing faith facilities within the community which would
be a preferred option. The unit received a number of kind donations including a
television, furniture, spiritual artwork and books provided by Ormskirk Hospital League of Friends, service users, families and faith organisations across
Lancashire.
Kate Halsall, Lead Occupational Therapist for Ormskirk Inpatients at Lancashire
Care NHS Foundation Trust:- "A big part of our jobs is to look at people's
needs that go beyond taking medication. This involves working collaboratively
with patients, listening to their wants and needs and doing our best to meet
them. This project was to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all of our
patients. Having a facility for patients to reflect or take part in therapeutic
activities helps patients to improve the function of their lives and gives them
a sense of who they are. It also helps staff here to understand the patient
better and understand how they are feeling or how they work.
We would like to say a big thank Rydon; who kindly offered to paint the walls
free of charge, The League of Friends and our service users for their kind
donations. We are so pleased to be able to provide this quiet and calm area for
our patients to access prayer books or items, watch calming scenes on the
television or just to enjoy some relaxing time out!"
Pete Hill, Support Worker in the Occupational Therapy Team at Lancashire Care
NHS Foundation Trust said:- "1 of the 1st things we say to a patient
when they arrive here at the Scarisbrick Unit is, "tell me how I can help
you?" As part of this conversation, we often look in to a person's needs
around faith and spirituality as factors in aiding someone to recover is often
helping people to recover their spiritual needs.
I often ask people what keeps them going and what makes them feel connected?
Whether this is going for a walk around the Hospital, feeding the ducks,
watching a football game or visiting an art gallery, we always try to make these
things happen for people. However, in some cases or at that particular stage in
their recovery it is not always possible to get a patient out in to the
community. That is when we started to think about the things we could do that
would make a difference here at the unit.
When we came up with the idea of a reflective space for our patients, I began
spending a lot of time on the road going to see faith leaders and forming those
community partnerships we needed to make it happen. The project has been very
much a team effort and thanks to all of the kind donations we have received, we
are now able to provide this fantastic space for our patients, an appropriate
venue for pastoral care given by faith leaders who visit the unit. This space
will also be offered to staff on the ward as a resource for prayer or time out.
Everything we do is patient centred and whatever the circumstances we always aim
to do the best we can for those in our care. I feel extremely proud of this
achievement and look forward to the next project here at the Scarisbrick unit."
The Scarisbrick Inpatient Unit (SIPU) is a 21 bedded unit based within the
premises of Ormskirk District General Hospital. The unit provides care and
treatment for adult service users who are showing signs and symptoms of acute
functional mental illness. Service users are from the population of Lancashire
and surrounding areas. For more information about the Scarisbrick Unit please go
to the Trust's
website.
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