There was festive fun for the staff and young people at Brookside Adolescent Unit as they held their Christmas Market last week. The market was jointly led by the nursing and occupational therapy staff and was aimed at empowering the young people and encouraging creativity as part of their therapy. 

Shoppers (staff and young people) snapped up early Christmas presents from stalls filled with a variety of beautiful crafts and gifts that were created or donated by patients and their families. 

Nicola Limby (pictured above), health care assistant at Brookside Adolescent Unit said: “I was one of the staff that led the groups for this project, and am pretty passionate about delivering good quality sessions. I introduced a jewellery making group to the unit a while ago, which has been successful and was also the inspiration for Brookside Market as we began to wonder what we should do with the accumulation of jewellery the young people were producing.” 

Carey-Ann Baisden, ward manager, said: “The skills they’ve learnt help develop and extend their skills base, enhance life and communication skills. They obtained a taster in running a mini shop, engaging with customers, managing finances, and most importantly having fun whilst learning. It also helped boost morale for the team, who had the opportunity to purchase new items for themselves or loved ones.” 

A number of other great projects are currently running at Brookside, including the ‘Brookside Café’ which runs weekly by the young people, facilitated by the occupational therapists.