Staff and patients at Rampton Hospital had the opportunity to listen to a riveting talk by Terry Waite CBE recently when he paid a visit to the Hospital.
The visit, which took place on Friday 14 October, was the second time Terry has been to the Hospital. On the previous occasion he had such an impact on the patients he met with, one of them suggested it would be great if he could return and give a formal talk to a larger audience.
Mike Harris, Executive Director Forensic Services said: “We are very grateful to Terry Waite for giving up so much of his time to us. I think it is true to say that of all the many visitors I have taken round the Hospital over the last ten years, Terry is the one who produced the greatest impact amongst staff and patients. I have never seen the men and women in the hospital so entranced by a visitor. He has the ability to talk to everyone in a completely natural way treating them all like equals. We were delighted that he came back to tell his story and once again gave up his time to talk to individual staff members and patients throughout the Hospital.
“Many patients, most of whom have had very difficult lives themselves, acknowledged that none of them had an experience that in any way approached Terry’s five years spent in solitary confinement; for much of the time facing imminent death.” Terry spoke of his experience with a sense of understanding of his captors and no sense of bitterness.
An audience of 50 staff and patients came together in the Hospital’s Recreation Hall to listen to Terry talk of his experiences in captivity and the effect it had on his life. The talk was filmed so that other patients could watch on the Hospital’s distributed television channel and that in future more patients within Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Forensic Services will also be able to benefit from it. There were so many questions on the day that Terry offered to return once again and speak in a more informal way to several smaller groups.
While at the Hospital, Terry was also given a tour of the day therapy area within the David Wilson Unit, the National High Secure Learning Disability Service which was opened earlier this year, one of the recently renovated wards for patients with a personality disorder and the Hospital’s Chapel and prayer rooms.
Terry said: “Each time I have visited Rampton I have been impressed by the caring atmosphere evident throughout the hospital. Severely ill patients are treated with skilled care and compassion by a dedicated staff who do a dangerous job on behalf of society. I look forward to my return visit to meet with more staff and patients.”
