Then & Now

The Orchards, Locksway Road, Milton

 
St James Hospital has gone through a period of extensive change. Mental health service user, LEE STEVENS investigates what the new wards, Oakdene and The Orchards will mean to people and looks back at the way the hospital used to be before the extensive improvements were made.
 
Anyone who has been to visit St James Hospital recently will have been hit with the sight of the new buildings that cannot have failed to impress on first glance. The plush looking design is a far cry from the inadequate facilities that were in use before Oakdene and The Orchards opened earlier this year.
 
Oakdene is a rehabilitation and recovery unit, which aims to support people with mental health problems to regain as much independence within their lives as is feasibly possible. The type of care an individual can expect to receive varies from each person, as the mental health team tailor the care to individual needs. The overall hope is that people will be able to live as full a life as they possibly can in the community again.
 
Oakdene was completed in the summer of 2004, has 14 beds and has been purpose built to offer an improved environment to people needing a hospital stay. The views of carers, service users, and staff have all been considered during completion and setting up of the unit. Service users produced some of the artwork, poems and various other decorations and designs that adorn the unit walls.
 
Activities and life skills are on offer within the unit, such as personal care, budgeting and cooking. After all, many people who are admitted to the unit may need to learn or re-learn skills such as these in order to be able to live independently once again. The Orchards is a short-term care facility, replacing the cramped and vastly outdated accommodation that has existed at St James Hospital for far too long now. The 36-bed facility provides a range of therapeutic treatments such as psychotherapy, ECT and prescribed medication. There is space on the unit for carers support workers as well as advocacy workers, a multi-faith room and the services of a chaplain.
 
I have to admit I'm impressed by the new facilities. The little things such as more TV lounges than the old facilities had means that if you are feeling uncomfortable in one you can go to another, for example. The addition of the Internet to the facility means an up to date hospital at last, and was long overdue.
 
Overall, it would appear that the new facilities will make a more comfortable time should hospital respite become necessary, and that the Orchards and Oakdene are far better than the cramped, outdated and inadequate accommodation that was previously on offer.