1. By Layla and Ann-Marie

2.  We want to bring to your attention the excellent team here at the ayr clinic.  The support we receive is tremendous.  There is always someone that will give you support.  Nurses, ot, psychology and the consultants work together to create a clinical team of support for each individual patient.

3.  Psychology are part of the clinical team.  They help you create coping strategies and recognise triggers.  They help us understand our thoughts and feelings,.  They are a great support.

4. WHAT THEY DO  They help facilitate the care we receive. They are passionate about the importance of meaningful structured activity in the process of recovery.  They provide and facilitate a lot of great activities on the ward, they keep us motivated.  They work with us everyday on a individual or group basis.

5.  The consultants facilitate the relationship group. This is where we talk about our relationships on the ward and with staff.  They are the main people in our care team. They spend 1:1 time with patients. They work with patients to get well. They hold the CTM once a week. They work with patients, families and other organisations to help get the best outcome for the patients

6.  Up for breakfast  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we get a fry up…some folk have seconds!  We get the kettle out at times through the day, its from half past the hour to quarter to the hour.

7.  Smoke breaks are every two hours on the quarter to.  These times have been allocated by staff and patients….some might disagree :@  We go out to the secure garden for smoke breaks, we have a gazebo for shelter.  We get internet and Skype access on the ward computer, it’s a great way to get in touch with relatives and friends.  Lunch time is at 12pm, and on a Sunday it at 3pm.

8.  Activities take place every day. We have morning sessions and afternoon sessions.  On a Wednesday at 2.30 we have the patients forum. This is a meeting for the patients, by the patients.  We have the relationships group on a Wednesday. This group is about talking to each other openly about any issues we have with each other or with staff.  Issues can get resolved with these meetings.

9.  We also have DVD nights, baking and cooking.  Mobile phone are allowed at certain times of the day. Its from 2- 4pm and 6-9pm. No phones with cameras or internet are aloud (were stuck with cheap nokia’s!)

10.  The hospital shop is run by the patients, for the patients.  We sell sweets, crisp, toiletries and the odd fruit bar!  There is a shop manager and a shop assistant.  The shop is run every Thursday

11. Patients leave  Patients are granted leave by the clinical team.  To start with patients usually go out with numbered staff for a short period of time, just to start off with.  Over time patients build up there leave to what they want to do each week.  When a patient is at a stable stage of recovery, we can get unescorted leave.  This means we can get time out by ourselves on public transport.

12.  Patients can get trips home, to friends or go out with the people close to them.  Patients can get a pass every month. It depends on the stage they are at of there recovery.

13.  This committee is run by myself and other patients.  At this we talk about and organise different activities and event we can go on.  The summer ball, blairdrummond, comic relief, charity and days out.

14.  To finish off, we would like you to know how beneficial the ayr clinic really is, providing care and support to all patient and relatives. The people that make the clinic run e.g. consultants, OT, psychology and of course the nursing team deserve recognition for helping us achieve our desired outcomes.  Thank you.