Durham Mental Health Patients Celebrate Pride Month

Located on Frederick Street in Meadowfield, Bramley Ward is a 15-bed acute service for women. It is one of two wards at Cygnet Appletree, a mental health hospital run by Cygnet Health Care in County Durham.

Bramley Ward staff and service users enjoyed a day of partying and games to conclude Pride month, which is celebrated throughout June.

The Cygnet Health Care patients came up with the idea for the party themselves in Recovery through Activity, a regular therapy session run by the Occupational Therapy team to engage service users in activities and improve their wellbeing.

The party featured music, a LGBTQ+-themed quiz and some mocktails to enjoy such as Purple Rain and Strawberry Daiquiris.

Emma Brown, an Occupational Therapy Assistant at Cygnet Appletree, said: “It was a great party and everyone really got into the spirit of Pride month. The party was important as we were able to celebrate Pride with our service users, as many of them feel really passionate about it.

“A lot of our service users got involved in preparing for the party and worked with staff to make tie-die tops to wear before glamming themselves in lots of glitter. Everyone really enjoyed the event as it was educational but also helped us celebrate each other’s differences.

“Here at Cygnet Health Care, it is really important for us to mark Pride as it is a time to recognise the diversity within our staff and service users. We are already looking forward to next year.”