Creating Space for Connection: Social Tea on Bow Ward

Written by Jess Bolton, Occupational Therapist, and Edmund Glynn, Improvement Advisor

Bow Ward is a 12-bed women’s medium secure forensic ward. As the only female ward in Forensics, it supports women with a wide range of needs Staff and service users identified a need for more opportunities to connect outside of clinical discussions and the day-to-day routines of ward life.

To address this, Occupational Therapist Jess Bolton and a service user worked together to introduce Social Tea, a regular informal gathering designed to create a relaxed and welcoming space where staff and service users could connect through meaningful conversations about everyday life, rather than treatment, risk, or medication.

Using Quality Improvement methods, the team tested and adapted the sessions over time, learning which activities generated the greatest engagement. Through ongoing feedback, Social Tea evolved to include activities and discussion topics that service users enjoyed most, helping to increase participation and strengthen the sense of community on the ward.

The initiative has helped foster more authentic relationships between staff and service users, providing a valuable space for connection, conversation, and recovery. Initially a weekly event, by  co-producing and continuously refining the approach, the team now facilitate the tea on Mondays and Fridays. All service users are invited to attend the tea, where they are joined by staff from the ward and occasional visitors from elsewhere in the Trust. The tea, which  can last for an hour, has demonstrated how a simple change idea can positively influence ward culture and improve the experience of both service users and staff.

“It’s been brilliant to get to know more about service users and colleagues through the informal interactions that occur during social tea”, Jess reflects.  “On Mondays, we catch up on one another’s weekends, discuss favourite films, pets, or read and discuss the papers together. The space has helped improve rapport and relationships which has been really positive to see.”

To understand how effectively Social Tea was engaging service users, Jess developed an attendance wheel to capture information about attendance, participation, and the activities taking place during each session (see below). This approach to collecting data was co-produced with the service user, and ensures that the information is captured even when the ward manager and OT are not on the ward. The service users and staff on the ward continue to enjoy and benefit from the social tea, which has become a positive part of life on Bow, and a helpful point of contact for the staff and service users alike.