Hello again

You'll all be pleased to hear that we've been too busy working to take any photographs of the sights or even of any of either of us standing beside a unit sign. Our contact here has organised a packed timetable which will occupy us until we fly back to Christchurch. Today, we visited a rehab unit within the Mason Clinic and were able to chat with patients to gain their perspective. We also visited a step down hostel, also in the hospital grounds that provides an open environment. Some of the patients there are in mainstream employment but still benefiting from the support of staff. The deputy diector of the rehab services (a psychiatrist) gave us her views on delivering a recovery focused forensic service. She highlighted the importance of recovery competencies and education in ensuring that staff have a shared vision and felt that the recovery approach should be implemented from the initial admission stages. She also is the lead of the forensic comminity team and wanted to poach Susi to fill a current Community Occupational Therapy post!!! Meanwhile, still no art therapists.....We then went on to visit a new Intellectual Disabilities Forensic unit . Quite a tiring day again but we're building up a better picture of how things work here. The more we learn, the more complex it gets. Sometimes we seem to be kicking up more questions than finding answers!

Bye for today, Adrienne and Susi