Occupational Therapy Department
A popular place to be
By Bob Houlston
During my stay at Hill End hospital, my favourite place to be was the Occupational Therapy department.
The occupational therapists made me feel welcome, introduced me to fellow patients from other wards and provided much appreciated activities. Sometimes, a music therapist would visit the department and encourage us all to join with her in a singsong. She would sing and play violin. She was quite a skilled violinist.
I would sometimes entertain myself by playing the piano in the Occupational Therapy department.
We would also play games such as bingo, when the winner would receive a bar of chocolate.
A popular pastime was making wooden stools with a weaved fabric top. My job was to assemble and glue the wooden framework of the stools, and then I would join in with the weaving. The weaving was done in two colours: red and black, or green and beige. Whilst weaving, we would all listen to the radio and chat amongst ourselves.
One occupational therapist used to sit and read poetry to me. I will always be grateful to herĀ for that.
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