Thanks to the overwhelming support for the Northamptonshire Health Charity COVID19 appeal last year, we have been able to fund a range of fantastic equipment to enhance care and activities available to mental health patients on Meadowbank and Wheatfield at Berrywood Hospital in Northampton.
Funding for a set of bicycles was agreed last year but understandably there have been a number of procedures that needed to be followed before patients have been able to begin using them.
This includes studying the highway code, just something else to provide a sense of achievement and independence.
“We are doing group bike rides first, then people can choose to use them independently for shopping and accessing work,” said Helen Macmillan, Specialist Occupational Therapist on Meadowbank.
As part of their recovery process, patients are given a budget with which to do their shopping and they will be able to use the bikes to go and do this instead of using public transport.
Meadowbank and Wheatfield patients have complex mental health needs and are often diagnosed with comorbidities such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anxiety.
In addition to these bikes, the charity has also funded a range of gym and sensory equipment for the patients to use as well, enhancing the scope of activities available to them.
With restrictions in place and isolation a common feature, patients have really struggled especially as the many community activities cannot take place.
This means the therapy team are limited with the choices of sessions and activities they are able to deliver to aid recovery.
Sensory items and the development of a sensory room for Meadowbank and Wheatfield at Berrywood, under Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has enabled a more therapeutic environment for the patients but also provided benefits for staff too.
After seeing such amazing results of using sensory items and activities on the acute inpatient wards at the hospital together with the growing evidence base for the benefits of sensory rooms on recovery from mental health conditions, staff on these two wards really wanted to enhance their service provision.
“I just wanted to say a big thank you, these items have already made a difference to our ward community, both patients and staff!” Helen Macmillan
Northamptonshire Health Charity are really pleased to be able to fund this equipment to significantly enhance patient experience at Berrywood.
Thank you so much to everyone for supporting our COVID19 appeal, which enabled this to happen.