Video collaboration gives insight into life at Lighthouse Centre
Young people, their families and mental health professionals have been working together to produce a new animation giving insight into a day at Norfolk’s eating disorder centre.
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s Eating Disorder Intensive Treatment Team (EDITT) at The Lighthouse Centre, based at Hellesdon Hospital, wanted to create something that could be shared with young people, their families and professionals to show what to expect when they attend.
The plan is for the EDITT team to use the video as part of the assessment process, and that staff from the community team can share it with young people and families to support the transition from community to day treatment.
Service manager Danielle Cooper said: “Young people told us how anxious they felt coming to The Lighthouse and we wanted to work with them to come up with something that supported this transition.”
To create the script, team managers Danielle and Nyssa Cooper, wrote and sent a questionnaire to young people asking them to say what they were worried about before they came, what they had found useful and what they would like others to know about The Lighthouse.
“We took that back to the patients to ensure they felt that their voice was coming through and that what the script said was accurate. We then asked if anyone would be willing to voice the patient, and we were so lucky that one of the young people who contributed was willing to do this and her family were keen and supportive,” said Danielle. She added: “The eating disorders day treatment centre is a co-produced service at its core, and this video is yet another example of this.
“I couldn’t be prouder of what the staff and young people have achieved by producing this video. We understand how anxiety-provoking this time can be for young people and their families and this will go a long way towards preparing them for their stay.”
Cath Byford, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief People Officer at NSFT added “ This is a really useful resource for young people who are new to The Lighthouse Centre and it’s fantastic that their peers have been involved in putting the video together. It shows that involving the people who use our services is crucial to better outcomes.”
The animation can be viewed on the NSFT YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4vLpix2sXE