The Great Deeside Bake Off: Hospital opens new rehabilitation kitchen to prepare patients going home

Patients on two wards at Deeside Community Hospital now have a newly-refurbished kitchen. Its aim is to help them become independent so they can return home.

The kitchen will be used for therapy sessions where patients are encouraged to make hot drinks, snacks, and meals. It will also be used by the new Baking Club. This setting allows Occupational Therapists to assess patients, seeing how they might cope at home and determining any additional support they may need.

Fiona Moss, Occupational Therapist Team Lead, said: “The kitchen helps our patients with day-to-day activities they’ll need to do at home. It aids their independence, cognitive skills, and confidence, and also boosts their mental well-being in hospital.

“We use it to see if they can sequence tasks and to identify any safety concerns. This lets us assess our patients in an environment like their own home to determine the level of support they might need after discharge.”

The kitchen is named ‘Dorothy’s Kitchen’ after it received significant funding from the estate of the late Dorothy Hall. The fundraising was initiated by Fiona and Jan Williams, Matron of Deeside Community Hospital.

They raised over £10,000 for the kitchen. Generous donations and support were also received from Flint Lions, Deeside Round Table, Shotton Community Council, and Deeside League of Friends.

Dorothy’s Kitchen is equipped to suit all patients. It has both an electric and gas cooker/hob and a rise-and-fall sink unit for assessing patients in wheelchairs.

Thanks to this new kitchen, the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit has launched a Baking Club for patients. This club is a new therapy session, with Asda in Queensferry donating baking items for the patients.

Jennifer Hanna, Stroke Specialist Occupational Therapist, remarked: “Our patients have given very positive feedback. The rehabilitation kitchen is a valuable resource for the occupational therapy staff. It helps us assess and support our patients, understanding how to aid their stroke rehabilitation and recovery.

“We’ve established a baking group, letting patients incorporate enjoyable activities into their therapy. We’re grateful to our local Asda in Queensferry for donating a trolley full of baking supplies for our patients.”