Work to improve the wellbeing of psychiatric patients at an Essex hospital has been recognised by a countywide awards programme.

The Occupational Therapy Team, based at St Andrew’s Healthcare, was highly commended within the activity award category at the Essex Activity Awards, which took place on Wednesday night.

They were nominated for making “positive and meaningful” changes among their patients after teaming up with another local organisation called Sport for Confidence (SFC), which works closely with occupational therapists to utilise sport and physical activity to enhance a person’s health and wellbeing.

Lead Occupational Therapist Annymn Adams, who attended the glitzy awards ceremony at the Player's Lounge in Billericay, said: “It was a real honour to have our hard work recognised by the Essex Activity Awards judging panel. We firmly believe that ensuring the wellbeing of our patients is as healthy as it can be will only serve to improve their treatment and recovery.

“As a team we are committed to injecting positive and meaningful changes so our patients have hope and can begin to rebuild their lives. Since we started partnership with the SFC, we’ve seen a huge shift in our patients’ wellbeing and attitude towards their treatment and we’re thrilled to have been highly commended for the activity award.”

SFC Founder and Director Lynsey Barret said: “It’s been wonderfully fulfilling working with the patients of St Andrew’s Healthcare, many of whom were very uncertain of what we had to offer would help them.

“It’s been a real privilege working collaboratively with the St Andrew’s team and together we’ve been able to meet many patient-centred goals. Our partnership has helped patients expand their social opportunities, minimise the impact of institutionalisation, boost their confidence and improve their overall physical and mental wellbeing.”

The Essex Activity Awards are hosted by Active Essex and were created to recognise and celebrate the extent of achievements throughout the county.