Then
An Annual Report from 1890 describes the hospital as a ‘hive of industry, with “female inmates undertaking needlework, embroidery, painting as well as reading, enjoying the gardens, or conversing with visitors”. Male patients undertook carpentry, beadwork, chess, draughts, billiards, reading and, somewhat strangely by today’s standards, smoking.
Now
Today the RHN continues to be a hive of activity with residents being involved in a variety of activities. Residents attend therapeutic clinics and the gym for therapy sessions. They can also choose from gardening, baking/cooking, jewellery making, pottery, painting/drawing, Do it yourself, woodwork, puzzles, board games, gaming, emailing/social networking with family and friends, music, relaxation, nail painting/pampering activities, exercise groups including dancing, yoga, cardiovascular training and therapy led conversation groups to practice communication goals. Residents are also on occasion involved in making cards for specific occasions to generate a bit of income.
Then and now recreation
Some of our nursing team and patients had fun posing for these photos, which are very realistic recreations of 2 black and white images from the late 1940s/early 1950s in our archive.
