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Lucinda has a radiance about her that lights up a room. Surely not the same woman described variously in earlier reports as psychotic and schizophrenic, a client who had tried to strangle staff , hit and kick them, thrown boiling tea, and been unable, or unwilling, to take care of her appearance and personal hygiene? Surely not? – Well, it may be hard to imagine, but it’s absolutely true. Quietly-spoken and looking as though she may just have emerged from a beauty parlour, Lucinda attributes the turnaround in her life to Cambian Healthcare. Although she was coping better with life when she transferred to Aspen Lodge from a medium-secure unit, (hospital?) she knew there was still a long journey to be travelled before she could live independently. She brought with her thirty years of accumulated experiences of psychiatric care, much of it distressing for her to recount – times when she was the only woman on a ward with fourteen other men, times she spent alone in a bare room with just a bean-bag to sit on because she couldn’t control her aggression. Hardly the sort of nurturing environment to promote recovery… Aspen Lodge was a revelation to her! “Fantastic! It’s like a palace when you compare it to other places. It’s kept really clean and nice.” Better still, in her eyes, it was a women- only hospital. “You can’t get pregnant here and you can trust everybody. It’s also easier just being women. You understand what the women are feeling which makes it a lot easier than if there were men here as well.” “The staff here are lovely. They’re always respectful. I mean you never hear them swearing or anything and they don’t just sit in a group talking to each other and reading magazines like at the other places I’ve been in. There’s no bullying here. Lucinda was in a poor state of mental health on arrival, suffering from anxiety and paranoia. “I couldn’t bear the TV on and lights bothered me. I just felt overwhelmed the whole time and felt that everyone was laughing at me. It was awful. |
The team looked at my medication and found something which suits me well and took me off all the pills I was on before. This has made a huge difference to my life,” she said. “I’ve now completed my self-medication programme and so I’m able to take my own pills at the right time independently.” This is just one example of a series of recovery milestones, devised by Cambian, which are used to assess patients’ progress and provide a clear pathway to the next step in independent living. Lucinda has flourished in such a supportive regime. “I like having a routine. It beats being kept inside four walls like I was before although I do get tired,” she said. Not so long ago locked up in secure accommodation, Lucinda is now able to hold down a job. “I do three hours a day voluntary work for the Help the Aged charity shop in Mansfield,” she said. “I really like it. I meet people; man the till, put price tags on the items and keep things tidy. The customers are really nice and I like to chat with them.” The manager of the shop has nothing but praise for Lucinda. “She’s lovely and a real pleasure to have in the shop. She’s always on time and couldn’t be more helpful. Lucinda’s long journey to independent living is now complete, escorted on her way by some truly remarkable and dedicated staff at Aspen Lodge. Lucinda has emerged a creative and gentle person, a poet and musician, quietly confident that she can make a go of her life back in the community. If you still find it difficult to believe in Lucinda’s transformation after such a troubled history, all you have to do is meet her, then you will see for yourself!
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