Manx Care and the Ballamona Association for Mental Health have worked together to significantly improve the outdoor space at Manannan Court acute mental health inpatient unit at the Strang.

The Ballamona Association is a charity that support initiatives to improve the mental health and wellbeing of individuals in receipt of mental health care.

The group specifically wanted to support the patients in Manannan Court, so the team shared their ideas for improving the outdoor space at the Glen Suite, which supports older adults with mental health difficulties.

Given the benefits of being outdoors for mental, emotional and physical health, and of having a therapeutic environment that supports recovery, these improvements were really important to the team.

Occupational therapist Dawn Quayle is passionate about the development of meaningful occupational activities for patients. She said: ‘We’ve worked with the Association to improve the outdoor space for our Glen Suite patients, with the association generously donating planters, plants, and the “pièce de résistance”, a large multi-purpose ‘garden room’ built by island company Cedarmann, to be used year-round.

‘We would also like to thank Cedarmann for its kind donation of a television for the new room.

‘Research supports spaces being defined as areas of familiarity for patients, and so the plans are to transform the space depending on needs, interests, and the time of year.

‘So, it may be a café serving afternoon tea, or a country pub serving (non-alcoholic) drinks and snacks. It may be a space for crafts, for therapies, or somewhere to engage in meditation or relaxation.’

The new outdoor space was officially opened on Thursday.

Dawn added: ‘This is a really generous donation from the association, for which we are very grateful. We can’t wait to see our patients enjoying this space!’