Story
Most of you probably know that for the past year, I have been working as a healthcare assistant at Hopewood Hospital in Nottingham. Specifically, I work on Phoenix Ward which is a ’general’ adolescent unit, and can take a maximum of 12 young people at any one time, who are aged between 12-18. The children that come to Phoenix Ward to stay as an inpatient may be going through a crisis period and so cannot be safely managed in the community. Such young people may have issues ranging from depression, anxiety, psychosis and PTSD amongst other things, and usually stay on Phoenix Ward for around four weeks, although it can sometimes be longer.
Whilst all the nurses and healthcare assistants (and others) try to provide as many activities and items for the young people as possible, we do not always have the funding and resources available to do everything we would like to. For example, we have a relaxation room where young people can go if they are feeling distressed, and within this room we could really benefit from some more sensory items. We are also developing a wildlife area for the young people to be able to go and sit outside, but this has so far been mostly funded by staff members on Phoenix Ward themselves.
For some young people their stay on Phoenix Ward may be their first time away from home and can understandably be a stressful experience for them, and therefore it is so important that we make the experience as pleasant as possible for them. The more we have that we can provide to the young people during their time with us, hopefully the more positive we can make their experience!
In order to raise money for Phoenix Ward, myself and other members of staff have decided to do the wild warrior mud obstacle course in September. The course is 5k and involves a series of outdoor obstacles through the mud! This will be a challenge for us all but hopefully will also be a laugh. If anyone would be able to donate money to our ward, no matter how small, we would all be so grateful and I’m sure the young people who stay with us would also really appreciate anything you can give!
