"My time at Pegasus ward"

Staff: most of the staff were absolutely lovely & caring, however some of them were way too strict and controlling. Some (temporary?) staff also don’t seem to know what they’re doing, resulting in the patients feeling unsafe and insecure in the environment. Patients generally feel better talking to regular staff about their concerns and interests. Some bank staff can be difficult to talk to. Sometimes I experienced bank staff scolding patients for crying, praising them when they don’t like praise or taking away patients’ stress toys to play with them while the patient is using them.

Rules: some of the rules are really stupid and really need to be considered. For example, patients aren’t allowed their phones until 3:30pm, which is unfair. Patients deserve proper distractions and shouldn’t have their property taken away.

Also, patients are not permitted to add each other on social media. This rule is pointless as when you put teenage girls together and they make friends, they ARE going to add each other online. The excuse is that the ward is not a “social environment” which is honestly a load of bull. We literally do activities together in order to socialise and we talk to each other every day.

Patients are also told to social distance, which we never do anyway as we feel we shouldn’t have to. We’re technically all in the same household/bubble, we’re close and we support each other. Plus, we’re told off for hugging but just sitting/standing close together is apparently fine? Besides, if hypothetically someone had Covid and we hugged we would’ve already caught Covid, so what’s the point of distancing afterwards?

I was also told off for wearing a skirt on ward, also a crop top, because apparently it’s “distracting to the male staff” which is just ridiculous. The male staff here are great and they never behaved strange around me when I wore my skirt or crop top, it doesn’t make them uncomfortable or anything dodgy. I wear it to feel better about my body and I’m told to cover up, suggesting that my body should be hidden away. And saying that to someone with a restrictive ED is dangerous.

We deserve more freedom as these rules aren’t going to benefit anyone. Some of us feel that it’s just about controlling people.