The feelings of dread, trepidation and isolation are feelings often shared by those experiencing a mental health crisis. This can be especially difficult for those who need treatment in hospital, and even harder when that treatment takes place over Christmas.  

At Deck the Wards we hear countless stories of the ways in which young people and members of hospital staff find light in the dark. So many of these stories involve coming together over something shared, like  festive scenes in the backs of colouring book pages. 

We know that presents at Christmas can't heal everything. But we also know that the crafts, games, books, musical instruments and more that we provide can help create those shared moments Daisy describes. They make it a little easier to find the light. 

In the run-up to Christmas, we'll be thinking about all those who will be spending time on psychiatric wards. We extend our love and thoughts to all those staying in hospital, and we wish them all the best in their recovery. We express our thanks to the members of staff we work with who look after the young people in their care, and work tirelessly to bring everyone together over a game or an art project. We also hope all those temporarily separated from their loved ones are able to share precious moments together in person again as soon possible. 

Last but not least, we want to thank everyone who supports us to reach as many wards as possible each year. We're extremely grateful for all the donations, social media support and to everyone who gifts us their time, energies and organisational skills. Because of you, we can provide the little things that make Christmas a little lighter. ​

Whilst the general awareness of mental illness and mental ill-health is thankfully getting better, we find that this does not always include the experiences of children and young people in psychiatric hospitals. We still hear from many who were unaware that children or young people might experience mental ill-health, or that it might be serious enough to require a hospital admission. This means that, in contrast with physical health hospitals, children and young people staying in psychiatric hospitals are still often forgotten about. ​

Even where child and adolescent psychiatric hospitals are discussed, the picture we see in the media and press can be stigmatising, sensationalist or inaccurate. The stories of what it’s really like to be in hospital are still not being told as often or as accurately as we would like. ​

The collective focus on kindness, the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, is also more important than ever. ​

Secondly, what’s your favourite thing about Deck the Wards?

Katie: I’m particularly proud that Deck the Wards was founded from a place of ‘lived experience’. Two of the trustees have spent time in adolescent inpatient care and these experiences have been a real driving force behind everything we’ve done and continue to inform our path. One thing we make sure of is that we contact and work with every ward to make sure the young people are integral in putting together the lists for us. This makes sure that we are giving them what they actually want and need, rather than what we think they want and need.

Jaz: It’s definitely knowing that the things we donate will brighten up the wards for years to come! 

The things the wards ask for are generally items like games, DVDs and musical instruments. They’re things that children and young people can enjoy together during their time in hospital, but that last for years. For me that’s really important.

Hermione: I like how DTW works in partnership with the wards to put together the boxes. At DTW HQ we always get very excited after receiving the wish lists from each ward. They are always so different from each other, highlighting just how important co-production is. When we get to hear how things in the boxes are being used and the difference it makes to the young people on the wards, it spurs us on to keep going and to make the next holiday even better than the last.​

​While unpacking and distributing the Christmas presents and donations I found myself thinking back to my time in hospital as a 14-18 year old over the Christmas and the school holidays. I spent the majority of those years in various hospitals being treated for what was diagnosed on my 2nd admission as Bipolar disorder. For some of this time I was detained or ‘sectioned’ under the Mental Health Act and couldn’t leave the ward at all for days, weeks and even months. At other times I had some day leave or overnight leave and could spend a little less time on the ward. At a time where I normally would have been watching films in lessons, singing in the school choir or traipsing around the shops buying presents I wasn’t able to do any of these things. I found myself sat playing the same card games, wistfully thinking about the artful placement of the ‘christmas chicken’ on the Christmas tree (an inexplicable family tradition) and missing home more than ever. 

​So, back to 2016 and having received these generous donations at my place of work, myself and my partner (co-founder Jasmine) decided to buy a few festive things and drop them into the local CAMHS inpatient service. I tried to think back to what myself and other inpatients had enjoyed or missed while we’d been on the ward over Christmas and the sort of things families and young people had been enjoying at my work. Being fresh out of university we didn’t have lots of money but we managed to get a couple of new games and art materials, some books and DVDs and a few bags of Christmas snacks and decorations.

We called in to check if this would be ok with the unit and found ourselves having to explain, a few times, what it was we wanted to do. ‘Just drop off some Christmas things for the kids’ I heard Jaz saying again on the phone. ‘My partner has Bipolar and was an inpatient as a teenager and we just thought it would be nice’. The staff on the ward were so surprised they were having trouble wrapping their heads round why we were dropping things to them. It never occurred to me or my colleagues working in a physical health setting that it was in any way strange to be receiving large donations of gifts and games. Of course people want to help Children and Young People with cancer and their families at Christmas. So why does it seem so alien that people would think to do the same for those in psychiatric wards?

​Mental health awareness has come a long way, and it’s so heartening to see the open way in which people are beginning to talk about their experiences to each other, online and in the media. However, the more severe end of mental health – crises which result in hospitalisation, suicide attempts, severe psychosis and eating disorders – is still something people struggle with. Even more so when we think of things like that affecting children and young people below the age of 18. We don’t imagine that there are young people detained under the mental health act because they are so unwell they pose a serious risk to themselves or others. But there are currently roughly 1500 mental health beds in the NHS in England and many more in the private healthcare sector and at Christmas, many of these young people will be unable to leave hospital. Some will get some overnight leave, some may get day leave and others will be unable to leave the ward for the entirety of the Christmas period because they’re simply too unwell. Some young people may be in wards miles away from home, friends and family.