As we continue our July theme of ‘outdoors’, today we hear from Victoria Turner, Occupational Therapy Assistant at Cefn Carnau Hospital, on the creative ways the hospital supports people to get out and about, and the proven therapeutic benefits of getting outdoors.

“When people see that we have been on a trip to Barry Island, for example, it would be easy to think that it’s just a nice day out. But there is so much more to visits away from the hospital than that. They’re a chance for people to make links in their communities, to take the skills they have been learning in hospital as part of their rehabilitation, whether that’s travel skills, budgeting or social skills,  and apply them in real life. And it is a chance to get outdoors. 

“When we go out – and we try to as much as possible – we are not just going where someone on the staff team has chosen. The people we support make decisions about where they would like to go and what they would like to do. We just support them in making that happen. 

“For example, we recently visited Barry Island. People applied for bus passes, train passes, looked at timetables and planned where we were going to eat. It was all very individually led. Barry Island as a venue makes sense as it’s not too far away, which is sustainable for the people we support. They can practice a visit with the Occupational Therapy team, and then they can do it with ward staff. We embed the skills and then the person can take it forward with ward staff. 

“While we are in the heart of the countryside and people see fields and mountains all the time, getting to the beach and being in a different environment is also good for people. Exposing people to different environments is really important – those different sensory experiences are key. 

  “We go out every week, sometimes locally and sometimes much further afield. It’s a co-designed trip each week, with the people we support designing their day and what they would like to do. 

“The benefits of getting outdoors and the impact of these trips on our service users cannot be underestimated. One person who went to Barry Island hadn’t been on a train for 20 years before that visit, and clearly that was a huge accomplishment for her. Everyone takes a different sort of accomplishment from these visits. People tell us they love it and keep coming back for the next session. People are calmer and happier when they come back. 

“We use the journey back as a great way to decompress and debrief – that way we can gain ‘on the spot’ feedback which we can apply to the next trip, and make it even more successful, feeding into the co-designed aspect of the visits. 

“It’s empowering for people. They have made these decisions. They have been their own advocates.”