Chalkhill Hospital in Haywards Heath is a mental health inpatient unit supporting children and young people experiencing emotional difficulties, mental health problems and eating disorders. We support a year-round activities programme that brings creative, sporting and therapeutic activities to the children and young people that complements their clinical treatment plan. This includes arts and crafts workshops, daily living skills such as shopping and cooking and access to workshops both on and off the hospital site. The programme enables staff to work flexibly with the children and young people to find the 'thing' that motivates them and help them stay well.
Through taking part in these activities, the children and young people have the opportunity to rediscover previous interests, develop new passions and grow in confidence which supports their ability to engage in the therapeutic support, their recovery and ultimately their discharge from hospital.
These seemingly small activities can be life changing.
Ruth, aged 13, used to be an avid swimmer, before she became unwell and was admitted to Chalkhill hospital for mental health treatment. Ruth is autistic and during her stay she found it really hard to engage in daily activities, finding the hospital environment challenging and unable to be herself. She was anxious about visits home from the hospital and struggled to cope with so much change, which prevented her from benefitting from the treatment plan and therapeutic support that she needed. The occupational therapy team worked with her to understand what she liked, what she didn't like and what makes her feel well. They discovered Ruth had previously really enjoyed swimming and so started taking her to the pool as part of weekly private sessions funded by Heads On. Ruth was able to relax, open up and engage with the support available to her. Being in the water reminded Ruth of a time when she had been well, and crucially what it felt like to be well.
After a long stay at Chalkhill, a combination of sensory sessions on the ward, and reigniting her love of swimming and the feeling of being in the water helped Ruth become well enough to go home.
