Recognition for our Croydon teams
Some of Croydon based teams have received heartwarming feedback from service users thanking them for their support throughout their recovery.
The service users reflected on the support and compassion they received from the teams, and the difference staff make during some of the most difficult moments of a person life.
The Croydon Home Treatment Team offer short term, community-based treatment aimed at providing at home crisis care and support.
A service user from this service shared how they felt "seen" beyond their diagnosis which helped to give them the strength to continue with their journey. They said:
"Please accept this plant as a small token of appreciation. I grew it from a seed in my house.
This plant represents growth, resilience, hope and change. I hope that as it grows, it will remind you of me not as the person who was struggling, but as someone who never stopped trying, even on the hardest days.
It is also a promise I make to all of you. I will keep trying. I will continue working on my recovery, no matter how small the steps may be.
Please keep watering the plant and watching it grow. As it reaches towards the light, I will keep reaching out for mine. Every new leaf will remind you that growth takes time, patience and care, just like recovery.
If there is anything I want you to remember about me, it is not my diagnosis, written notes, or the crisis that brought me to your care. I hope you remember the person who desperately wanted to live and held on to hope even when it was hard, and who kept trying because of the kindness you showed.
As I come to the end of my time with your team, I wanted to say thank you to everyone whose names I could not remember.
I may not have completely healed while under your care, but I found something just as important. I discovered my name I thought I had lost forever. For that I will always be grateful.
Sorry for the times when I was hard to care for or when I took it out on staff. On reflection, I can see you were all trying to keep me safe and every decision made had my best interests at heart and was taken with kindness and compassion.
Thank you for helping me find my way back.
A part of my recovery will always have your names written across it."
The Croydon Home Treatment Team should be incredibly proud in the part they take in supporting patient’s lives in the community.
More positive feedback came from a service user from the Fitzmary 1 unit which is a female only inpatient unit providing treatment aligning with the Recovery Model and work closely with the community service so patients receive the best care both during and after discharge.
Thank you to the team on Fitzmary 1 team, your efforts do not go unnoticed and your compassion and commitment is deeply appreciated. The patient expressed their appreciation for the team's hard work, compassion, and dedication through a heartfelt poem.
To the hands that helped me heal
I came here carrying a heart full of pain, a love that left me lost in the rain.
I could not see tomorrow, I could not hear hope through my sorrow.
But then there were hands that didn't let me go, kind voices helping me slowly grow.
Doctors who listened when I couldn’t speak, nurses who stayed beside me when I was weak.
You never judged the tears I cried, you stood with me when I wanted to hide.
You cared for my heart when it was breaking, and gave me hope when I felt like forsaking.
You protected me when I could not protect myself and you treated my pain with kindness and care.
Every gentle word, every moment you stayed, became a little light in the darkness I made.
I may have entered these doors feeling lost but your compassion showed me what kindness costs.
You reminded me that my life still has meaning, and that broken hearts can begin healing.
So to every doctor, nurse and caring soul, thank you for helping me become whole.
I respect you. I appreciate you, and from the deepest part of my heart - I love and thank you all for helping me find my way back to life.