"Patient involvement in Interviews at Wathwood Hospital"

This posting is posted on behalf of a service user volunteer from the Rosewood Involvement Centre Ollerton. My first impression of Wathwood having never been there before was that it was very welcoming. The reception, although small, is brightly decorated with lots of light! We were greeted at reception and led through to the interview room (Restaurant and Relaxation Gym). We were supplied with snacks and delicious cupcakes throughout the day : ) He explained his role at Wathwood which is as a Health Care Assistant and he obviously has a really good rapport with the patients on the ITT (Involvement Interview Team).

It was my second time shadowing on the ITT and it was great to see the patients actually asking 3 questions each and scoring the candidates themselves. Scores were amalgamated and then these were passed onto the Professional Interview Panel chaired by Wathwood’s Modern Matron. Afterwards, the Professional panel team came together with us and we shared our opinions about who we thought had performed well and the service users shared their views too.

They also shared with us there stories about their responsibilities at Wathwood; one of them gets up early and buys the fresh fruit, veg and meat/fish from the local wholesalers for the restaurant; one of them uses the gym and swims and one of them takes part in Wathwood’s Patient Forum.

Rosewood was mentioned in the Patient Forum the following day and the fact that taking part in the interviews gives service users confidence and helps them with rehabilitation and a sense of having contributed and feeling valued. They are interested in Rosewood (Involvement Centre) too; one of the service users would like to visit Rosewood once he has been discharged!

All in all, it was a very positive experience and I have gained some more of my confidence back by sitting on this Involvement Interview Team panel interviews! I am looking forward to a return visit to sample the festive fare at Section 17 soon in December when 8 Volunteers from Rosewood will be supporting the festive function. A big thank you to the Recruitment team at Wathwood Hospital and a big thanks to all the patients involved, could you pass on our best wishes. (Involvement Interview Team) (Rosewood)