Forest House Adolescent Unit 2021-03-07 Person 2 5 0

I was in forest house for just under 3 months. I have very mixed feelings about my stay but generally, the place was clean (mostly), all the kids I met were so lovely and supportive (better at helping than the staff), the activities were ok but like over Christmas and half term they had a different timetable with lots of plans but didn’t do most of them because there wasn’t enough staff. The food was ok but like normal hospital food... they do make you something else if you don’t like it tho which is nice but I mainly ate my own food from home as you can keep a box in the dining room full of stuff you like. Generally they managed to keep us safe although the agency staff weren’t and didn’t really care when we were having an incident. Half the staff were lovely and understanding, and he other half didn’t have a clue about mental health and made things worse. There were a few members of staff that I had to report for stuff but they didn’t do anything about it. Despite all this, when I was at my worst it kept me safe and the school there was the best and made me more confident in going back after. I would recommend this to people who are considering going but just don’t expect it to cure you, it’s just to keep you safe. If you get the chance I would go but now that I’m out I don’t ever want to go out. If this is your first admission and you are reading these reviews, try not to worry as everyone has different experiences and don’t be too scared if you can as all your kids are so lovely and really help you. You make friends for life in there and they keep you going ❤️❤️