Local mental health inpatients celebrate safe and supportive wards
Service users, staff and carers celebrated the 10 key interventions designed to improve the environment of mental health wards for International Safewards Day in July.
Wards were decorated with colourful banners, posters, bunting and decorations as inpatients at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) took part in the celebrations they had helped to plan.
Wards hosted games and activities for patients and staff to promote the importance of the Safewards interventions, showcasing progress made to promote safety and reduce conflict within the Trust.
NSFT occupational therapist Ami Tilbrook said: “Safewards is a day-to-day process, so it is good to get some recognition of how important it is to improve ward life for patients and staff. It encourages us all to consider ways to improve interactions every day. I think we’re all proud that today’s celebration has been really patient-led.”
There was live music on several of the wards and the secure wards in Norfolk held a week-long series of activities and challenges.
In Maple Ward in Suffolk, a local country singer and guitarist performed. Hellesdon Mother and Baby Unit patients had pamper sessions and created their own comfort boxes, an important calming method for Safewards.
Service users on this ward had the chance to add words to the positive words trees, a key Safewards intervention sharing inspiring messages.
Patients also spent time with therapy dogs and other animals, highlighting their therapeutic benefit. At Wedgwood house staff and patients enjoyed meeting and petting local farm animals and a ward in Great Yarmouth gave patients the chance to meet and hold owls from an owl sanctuary.
Tricia Fuller MBE, deputy chair at NSFT: “It’s wonderful to see staff and patients together and enjoying themselves. I’ve appreciated being able to see the variety of great work that has been done and hearing from those it has benefited.”
Sophie Bagge, lived experience lead and lead for the Safewards collaborative said “I would like to say a huge thank you to our experts by experience, patients and carers, who along with our front-line clinical staff have driven this project over the last year. It has been an incredible Quality Improvement collaborative working to improve the safety, experience and culture of our inpatient wards for all.”
NSFT chief nurse Anthony Deery said: “It’s so good to see the breadth of teams committed to keeping this long standing and effective Safewards programme going strong in wards across out Trust. I think it’s wonderful that International Safewards Day celebrations involved patients and provided a much-needed appreciation to staff to recognise what has been achieved so far. Staff and patients working together to create supportive therapeutic environments supports us to provide safer, kinder and better care.”