Caswell Chat News Snippets
Dog Handling
Some of the patients had an excellent opportunity to meet Erik the dog and attend a dog handling course. The attendees learnt how to teach Erik a number of skills, such as sit, lie down, wait, jumping through a hoop and skateboarding!Here are a few things the attendees had to say about the course:
“I learnt a great deal from it. I hope others enjoyed it like I did myself”. RJ
“I enjoyed it, it was lovely”. WH
“Very enlightening. There are other ways to train dogs like using a favourite toy. When I get another dog in the future I’ll put the skills I’ve learnt to good use”. DJ
“It was good, I enjoyed it”. LM
Skills for Living
Each Monday we have Skills for Living group which focuses on developing people’s social skills,confidence, independence and ability to cope with everyday challenges. In this block of sessions we had a session where we had a go at turning negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
Here are some ideas we have come up with. Hope some of them can help with having more positive thoughts.
Ogmore Ward Sponsored Walk
On 17th November 2018 some of the patients on Ogmore Ward did a sponsored walk for Children in Need. The boys absolutely smashed the 5 mile hike around Nash Point despite the mud. Good effort!
Events committee
This year we are looking to create an events committee that will plan the year’s events, including a summer festival, the recognition event and fundraising events throughout the year. Your ideas and input (however big or small) are welcomed. If you are interested or would like to volunteer, please let the activity co-ordinators or Dan Wilcox know.Newton Ward Fete
Newton Ward held a Christmas fete on the ward to raise ward funds. All of the patients and staff were busy in the lead up to the fete preparing for the day. This included making sock snowmen with knitted hats and scarves which were in high demand!
The fete also featured a raffle, sweet treats baked by the ward, and a “best dressed pet” competition. The afternoon was enjoyed by all and the ward raised a huge £806.10. .....
Penarth Ward Activities
Penarth Art – every Wednesday 3-4 there is an art session on Penarth wehre we try out different art and crat project each week. We particularly enjoyed making the gingerbread house and had a good laugh during the sessionsCardigan Ward Fete
Cardigan Ward held a fete on the ward with lost of tasty food and cakes, as well as bric-a-brac stalls and a raffle. On the day we also had an auction for a wonderful Christmas cake and a signed photograph of the Wales rugby squad. It was a tense afternoon of bidding. The winner of the signed photograph was Dr Avi with the winning bid of £100.00. He very kindly donated the photo to Tina, making her very happy!
The winner of the amazing Christmas cake was Dr Alison Witts.
Cardigan raised a massive £544.00 from the fete! An amazing achievement and team effort from all the patients and staff on the ward.
World Book Night
World Book Night is a national celebration of reading that takes place every April. This year, Caswell Clinic was selected to receive 80 free copies of the science fiction classic…War of the Worlds
by H.G. Wells
On the 25th April everyone came to collect their free books from the café—we had a space themed celebration to mark the occasion.
We hope to plan a similar event next year
Voluntary Roles
We have continued to be busy with voluntary roles both within the clinic and in the community. There are lots of different opportunities for voluntary roles that are available for different stages of leave. Patients from Caswell have continued to volunteer at the food bank every Tuesday morning, and some have also been volunteering in local charity shops and businesses. We have also had patients get involved with greener Glanrhyd and litter picking which help to keep the local areas looking tidy and welcoming. We have some internal voluntary roles for cooking, pottery, woodwork and art in which some patients help out to keep the therapy areas tidy and ready for the groups that are taking place. Some patients also help to run the patient shop. If you are interested in a voluntary role either in the clinic or in the community, ask your OT. Voluntary work is a really good way to develop skills for the future as well as a meaningful way to spend your day.