A TEAM of dare-devil NHS mental health workers from Knowsley have braved The Liverpool Wire challenge – reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.
Activity Co-ordinator Wendy Mitchell led a team from Coniston Ward at Whiston Hospital down the 115ft zip wire over the Church Street steps to raise awareness of physical and mental wellbeing.
“Connecting with and giving to others; being more active; learning and being more aware of the present moment are steps that are central to our health and wellbeing strategy,” says Wendy, who works for 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
“Having dangled 115ft above shoppers in Liverpool city centre with my colleagues, I can safely say we’ve lived in the moment while learning something new!
‘It was an exhilarating experience which has brought us closer together as a team, and I’d like to thank the Trust for sponsoring us to take on the challenge.”
Wendy and her colleagues were supported by the Trust’s Assistant Director of Adult Services Donna Robinson and Operational Business Manager Elaine Mitchell who attended to cheer them on.
“We take a recovery-focused approach to caring for people with mental ill-health that involves ward staff of all disciplines and backgrounds pooling their skills and abilities to create and deliver patient-centred care plans,” says Donna.
“It was great to see Wendy and her colleagues including Consultant Vineel Reddy continuing with this approach - supporting and encouraging each other through a challenge that frankly-speaking looked terrifying! Full marks for bravery to all involved!”
The fun activity carried another more serious message – tackling mental health stigma. The challengers all wore T-shirts to highlight the Trust’s award-winning ‘Sticks and Stones’ campaign.
“We strongly believe that for people to live well with mental health conditions, they need to be part of a caring and compassionate community,” said Wendy.
“We need to be able to talk about mental health without embarrassment or prejudice, which is why we were proud to fly the flag for mental health in one of the UK’s major cities!”
The Liverpool Wire will remain in operation on Church Street until 22 September.
Tickets are available online at http://www.liverpoolwire.co.uk/
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