Elysium is proud to share our first co-produced virtual tour.
To help those who use our services, their families, carers and others see what the service looks like, Elysium creates ‘virtual tours’. These short films offer a chance to see the outside and inside of the hospital or home. They form an important part of a person’s journey as they move into any service and wherever possible, one is created for each setting.
When creating a virtual tour for one of Elysium’s newest services, Castleholme Lodge in Huddersfield, the team was explaining the process to one of the people supported at the service, J.
J offered to showcase one of her hobbies in the film. This, she said, would be a chance for people moving into Castleholme Lodge to see the types of activities, hobbies or interests they could enjoy.
She said:“Castleholme Lodge is a new service and I really like living here and I think the place is beautiful. I like to do arts and crafts, sewing and knitting. I make cushion covers and bags which I donate to a local charity shop to raise money. I buy the materials to make my cushion covers locally too.
“I thought that might be interesting to people who might be coming to live at Castleholme Lodge. That they could see that when they’re living here they can enjoy the things they like to do, or find new hobbies and interests.
“I have been teaching the staff to sew too.”
Rebecca Hill, Senior Marketing Manager at Elysium, said:
“J’s help in co-producing the virtual tour for Castleholme Lodge was invaluable. As well as gifting one of her beautiful cushions to feature in the video, she very kindly allowed us to film her sewing and sharing her fantastic sewing skills.
“I have produced many virtual tours for Elysium services and am so proud that this opportunity to have service user involvement was possible. J helped with the ideas for the shots of her, adjusted her work station to get the best results and provided us with a prop for the shoot. She is incredibly proud of her talents and quite rightly so.”
Castleholme Lodge is a care home with nursing for men and women with mental health problems set in the leafy suburbs of Huddersfield. There is a strong emphasis on generating a sense of belonging through active community involvement and building meaningful social networks.
Leonie Charles, Registered Manager at Castleholme Lodge said: “J has been very proud to be part of this important virtual tour video. We are a relatively new service and the role this co-produced tour will play in helping people get the best possible vision of what Castleholme Lodge is like, and what we can offer, is very important.”