Being an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital can come with its challenges, often relating to multiple restrictions and dull environments. Endless echoing beige walls and sparse ‘communal areas’ scattered with heavy plastic furniture. ‘Noisy, smelly, bright’ are just some of the words used to describe the busy spaces that make up mental health units which contribute to sensory overload for many.
As Occupational Therapists, we understand the significant impact that an individual’s environment has on their Occupational functioning. We question, how can we expect people to engage and flourish in environments like this which are not particularly conducive to recovery?
At Cygnet, a new ‘social hub’ project has been launched to create environments which promote wellbeing and support recovery. This has been the ‘brain child’ and passion project of our company Expert by Experience Lead Raf Hamaizia with support from his wonderful team of expert by experiences who support each site.
Our overall aim of the social hubs is to improve engagement between patients, as well as staff and patients across the various wards in line with our newly developed meaningful activity policy.
Raf has said: “We often say that we need ward based and other staff to take more accountability for meaningful activity and therapeutic engagement, not letting everything fall onto the Occupational Therapists or relying on them to be the ‘entertainers’, but as a sector we need to give our staff members something to work with. We asked ourselves, if I was a staff member on enhanced observations with a service user, would I prefer to be on a chair in a corridor watching them sleep in a bed or would I prefer to be engaging in a relaxed and fun environment.
“Staff are human beings and maybe they need stimulation and some engagement too. So when we look into this room and see staff and patients sitting playing PlayStation or an arcade game, yes we are playing video games but what is important to acknowledge is that we are also discussing recovery, what the future is looking like and the many opportunities they have for the future whether that be personal, employment or education. We are having a laugh, capturing feedback and talking about how we can improve the service.”
Shared social spaces play a crucial role in mental health hospitals, providing a sanctuary for patients to connect, heal, and rebuild their sense of community. In these spaces, individuals find solace in shared experiences, fostering empathy and understanding among peers facing similar challenges. Moreover, social interaction combats isolation, a common struggle in such environments, promoting mental well-being and recovery. By fostering a sense of belonging and support, these shared spaces become vital therapeutic tools, facilitating healing journeys and empowering individuals to reclaim their lives beyond the confines of their illness.
Risk Some are scared for it, some embrace it. For individuals who have been admitted to mental health units, it is often because they present as a risk to themselves, others, or both. Whilst we acknowledge the presenting risks, it is important to take a positive risk approach in order to promote engagement in therapeutic activity and ultimately support each individual’s recovery journey. By taking this approach, we move towards embracing change and not viewing people as mere units of risk.
At Cygnet, we have been working on creating our ‘Social Hubs’ using a least restrictive, positive risk taking and co-production approach. With this as our focus, we have been able to co-produce this space with our service users. The space provides a much-needed opportunity for social interaction, fun and relaxation between service users, staff and visitors. The social hub contains arcade games, multi-game tables, a PlayStation, TV, books, board games, mini fridge, LED lighting, bubble tube, sofas and bean bags.
Working with colleagues and patients, led by Raf, we recently opened our social hub at Cygnet Hospital Woking in Surrey with service users involved from co-designing the space, and constructing the room on the day. A service user involved in installing the space said “It was great to be given the opportunity to be part of this great project. I really enjoyed it”.
Feedback from service users and staff
Since opening the Social Hub at Cygnet Hospital Woking we have had really positive feedback from service users and staff alike. Here is a small selection:
Service user feedback:
- “It sounded too good to be true; and the reality was even better than expected. A PlayStation 5, arcade style games and a massive 85 inch screen coupled with big white stylish sofas and bean bags together with some games chairs. It’s such a relaxing contrast to being on the ward and the mood lighting immediately sets the scene for ‘chilled’ vibes.”
- “Felt nervous at first as new environment but felt comfortable after a while. Will make my hospital stay better.”
- “The Social Hub is an amazing space to go to chill out, play some games and have a drink. It provides the opportunity for us to meet new people, mix and socialise. It really is a great space!”
- “Varied activities, fun, change of scenery.”
- “Nice change in scenery and nice varieties of things to do.”
Staff feedback:
- “We are grateful to have such a place to visit with our service users.”
- “Having a place that we can have fun with our service users brings a relaxed approach to building therapeutic relationship.”
- “I never thought we could have such a ‘normal’ space in a mental health unit. This represents exactly what we have access to in the community and brings normality to difficult days.”
- “It’s an amazing space, I had a lot of fun being there with the service users. It’s giving everyone the chance to interact socially with staff members and service users from other wards.”