Cygnet Brunel raises awareness on World Encephalitis Day

On Friday 22 February the team at Cygnet Brunel, our neuropsychiatric service in Bristol for men with mental health difficulties and acquired brain injury, took part in World Encephalitis Day.

World Encephalitis Day is a campaign to raise awareness about all aspects of encephalitis. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain usually caused by a viral infection and can cause serious damage to the brain with long-term consequences.

This World Encephalitis Day staff at Cygnet Brunel participated in an Encephalitis quiz displayed in the atrium. The display received many quizzical looks and, even more importantly, questions about encephalitis.

Staff and patients were able to see how much they knew about encephalitis and then check their knowledge against the answers hidden below. Many were surprised about how many people encephalitis affects (approximately 6,000 cases in the UK every year).

To encourage conversation and raise awareness about encephalitis, staff also wore red tops as part of the Encephalitis Society’s RED4WED campaign. The red attire did the trick as patients and other staff queried the red brigade which started many a conversation about the topic of encephalitis. As a result of the day encephalitis is much better understood at Cygnet Brunel.

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