Things change frequently when working on any ward in a hospital, and working in mental health is no different. We have 24 bedrooms, 6 of which are on the Ministry of Defence wing. We have a team of doctors and nurses who specialise in treating Army, Navy and RAF men. Our ward has a layout in an ‘L’ shape, with most of the activity centred around the convergence of the two corridors, where one can find amongst a subtle bustle of everyday life – the nurses office, the activity room(which is under refurbishment and improvement work), the dining room, the lounge, the sensory room, the laundry and the quiet room.

Recently during my work as activities coordinator on Juniper, we celebrated armed forces day. I asked one of our Army guys how he’d like to see the forces honoured, and he suggested I put up information about military missions, persons and animals of interest, with accompanying pictures. On our dining room window we had information about the Dambusters raid, and the man explained to me “The bombs had to bounce over the surface of the water for a reason. You may have seen the pictures and the film of those barrel shaped bombs skimming the surface. They had to avoid underwater obstacles.” He went on. “But the challenge lied in getting the bombs to submerge themselves under the water before hitting the dams and exploding – if you think of a firework going off in your hand with your palm open, you get a bad burn, but clench your closed fist around the firework and your fingers will unfortunately get seperated from your hand. It was the same principle in the Dambusters raids, and to achieve their goal they imparted backward spin on the barrel shaped bombs so that when they hit the wall the spin would encourage them to sink lower.” The army resident was enthusiastic and it was a privilege to learn from him.

Gustav the pigeon was also honoured on the lounge window in pictures. He was used as a messenger pigeon in the second world war. He carried several messages during periods of radio silence and was awarded the Dickin medal, the animal Victoria cross.

In the MOD area, at one end of the corridor, there are six bedrooms – one with en suite facilities, showers, bathrooms and a private lounge. There are several things we do in our work to tailor care for military personnel. As activities coordinator it is my job to provide fun and games, either scheduled or on the spur of the moment. We play monopoly, we have art classes, psychology groups, there is an X Box, and more. On our walks to the shop through the surrounding parks and countryside I have the opportunity to get to know what makes them happy, what entertains them. It turns out that there is quite a lot of banter and joking in the military and if that aspect of our relationship begins to sprout, I am happy to keep it going. If someone is happy to have a peaceful relationship I will obviously cater to that too. But the MOD often like jokes.

One time, Patrick was playing the X Box alone in the lounge. Now he and I had been bantering etc for about a week. As I walked past his lounge I poked my head round the door and said “Patrick, the TV volume is a bit loud, would you mind turning it down a bit please?” “Yes, of course Pete.” Two minutes later I came back – “Sorry Patrick, we were just wondering if you wouldn’t mind turning it down just a little bit more.” “Er, Yes, will do Pete.” Five minutes later, at this point I notice he had moved his chair right next to the TV and the volume was at mouse whisper level. “Patrick, I’m really sorry mate but it’s still blaring out loud down the corridor would you mi-“ “Ah Pete! I can’t believe you got me!” I start laughing, he starts laughing, as he realises I was just being silly. Patrick (not his real name) was there for a few weeks and we got on well. One of the nicest things in the job is when you get on well with people, establish a bond and feel comfortable enough to have some fun.   

In future there will be more information on how we cater to everyone as best we can, including the MOD lads.