Carers, relatives and friends were invited to join service users and staff for the day. The event was also open to key stakeholders from local services such as Kent and Medway NHS Trust and Kent Police.
The jam-packed day included a presentation from Hospital Manager Simba Kaseke. This focused on key achievements over the last 12 months including the launch of the hospital’s Recovery College Launch and first Carers event. Guests also heard from a clinical team leader and a service user who shared their journeys during their time at Cygnet Hospital Maidstone. The messages were full of hope and recovery and everyone felt honoured to hear them share their stories.
Following on from the morning presentations there was a shared lunch accompanied by entertainment from a magician. There were also plenty of sweet treats including pick ‘n’ mix sweets and cupcakes.
In the afternoon service users performed music. This included a song, ‘How Can You Heal a Broken Heart?’ that they had written themselves especially for World Mental Health Day. It was very touching to see how all the carers, guests and staff reacted to the performance.
After the musical performances there were more powerful speeches from staff and service users talking about reducing stigma and mental health first aid training. Finally, the psychology team put on a fun quiz, which involved a ball pit and buzzers, to end the day.
“It is hard to believe a year has passed already. Our residents wrote and performed a very inspiring song as part of World Mental Health Day and it was very touching to see how all the carers, our guests and staff reacted to the performance. I’m so proud of what we have achieved and cannot thank all the staff enough. They are all absolutely brilliant!”Simba Kaseke, Hospital Manager