Brighterway is working alongside staff at Melbury Lodge to create a new and improved courtyard for the service users in their care.

Melbury Lodge is home to the mother and baby unit (MBU). The MBU is a 10-bedded facility that provides specialist inpatient services for mothers who have severe mental illness from 36 weeks of pregnancy up until the child is one years old.

The unit is nationally commissioned and women can be admitted from anywhere in England.

We're currently in the process of transforming the courtyard to make it more inviting for the service users. For some, this is the only outside space they have access to during their stay.

The use of outdoor space is incredibly important to help improve the physical and mental well-being of service users and there is increasing evidence to show the therapeutic impact that getting outside can have on individual(s).

Due to limited leave on the ward, having an outside space where people can enjoy nature and grow things is so important to mental wellbeing - Laura Bradshaw, Charge Nurse

The new and improved courtyard will be sensory based to create a calm, therapeutic space for service users to enjoy on their own, with peers, staff or family members. It will include a multi-textured walkway, seating area and a play area for the babies.

You can learn more and follow the progress of the project by visiting our dedicated website page www.brighterway.org.uk/melbury-lodge

However, this project wont be possible without the generosity of our local community, so please donate what you can.

If you would like to support the project in more ways than donating, please contact us at charity@southernhealth.nhs.uk.