The project was led by Raf Hamaizia, Cygnet’s Expert by Experience Lead, and Javaid Razzaq, Service User Involvement Lead at Cygnet Hospital Bierley, who have previously organised and overseen social hub makeovers in a number of other services. Together they worked with Rebecca Fisher, Activities Coordinator at Cygnet Storthfield House, to get a wish list from service users of items they would like in their own social hub.
Once the items had been purchase a team of staff and Experts by Experience got together to spend the day transforming an activity room into a brand new space featuring games consoles, arcade machines, sensory lighting and a newly clothed pool table.
Raf said: “Social Hubs are non-clinical spaces within a service that feel homely that service users can use to chill out, play a game of FIFA, chat to other peers, have peer support sessions and do lots of fun activities.”
Rebecca Fisher, said: “This is what the service users wanted, this is their voice really being heard. We’ve listened and we’ve acted on it and it’s just amazing.”
You can watch the transformation of the old activities room in to the new social hub in the video below.