Lily looked up at the tall, intimidating, huge brick building, that was similar to that of a prison. It was her first day as a psychiatric nurse and she felt sick with nerves. It was a job she had trained her whole life for but that wasn't making it any easier. The thick metal bars over the windows didn't make her feel any less nervous, she knew the category of residents that was in this building but she wanted to help. There was very few people who got a calling to this type of vocation and psychiatric hospitals were chronically understaffed. Ever since she was a teenager she knew that she wanted to help the mentally ill.
The door to the hospital was massive and made out of very thick, dark old wood, Lily knew that on the other side of the door there must be more locks than Colditz. Lily pressed the button on the intercom that was screwed to the wall beside the door.
"Yes?" A serious voice answered after the ringing noise stopped.
"Hello, This is Lily I'm starting my new job today"
"Come in" He said, the door then buzzed open so she could now enter. Lily was greeted by an old doctor, borderline retirement age with a grey mustache and combed grey hair. He looked very serious and stern.
"Ah you're our new psychiatric nurse then are you Mrs..?" He went to shake her hand.
"Rose... Miss Lily Rose"
"Welcome.. My names Dr. Martin, I'll be showing you around and talking you through your induction" Lily smiled, nodded and followed him through the long white corridors.
Lily was shown to the medicine administration cabinet, she was told that the senior would give her medication individually and tell her which patient it was for. That seemed straight forward to her as she was trained in administrating medications. As they walked through the corridors Dr. Martin told her about the structured day, the times of when everything such as mealtimes and bedtimes ect were and the many rules and regulations of the hospital.
"Now the patients down here are free to do as they please to a certain extent while in the day room, if they want to watch TV they can, if they want to play boardgames they can or do artwork, but their bedtimes, medication times and mealtimes are set" Dr. Martin explained. "Now the bottom floor I'll show you round now, we'll go in abit more detail, that is the maximum security unit so as you can imagine has stricter rules and regulations" He said beckoning her to follow him down a set of stairs. Lily began to look nervous, she knew the category of the patients in this building but it was still a little scary the thought of coming face to face with them.
Lily had expected the underground level to be darker and gloomier, but instead it still had those horrible glarey bright bulbs that hurt her eyes, she wondered how much talker it was at night or if they kept most of lights on . Everywhere was decorated with off white tiles, she assumed it must be a hygiene thing, easier to clean than carpet or paint.
"This is the maximum security floor" Dr. Martin explained. "Before you enter this ward you will be checked for any prohibited items that could be used by the patients to hurt you or themselves" Lily nodded understandably "So that means no shoes with shoelaces, no pens or pencils, hair grips etc anything that can be made into a weapon" Dr. Martin said very seriously. Walking down the corridor Dr. Martin continued to talk.
"Now some patients you will see in straight jackets, don't be alarmed by this, this is for when people become distressed and may hurt themselves or others and is used as a calming mechanism until we know they're now calm and safe. While they're like this you'll care for them as normal, if they won't orally take medication they'll need it injected and if they're hungry at meals you'll feed them understand?" Alice nodded and told him she had understood what she'd been told and would do her very best to remember it all.
"Oh and one more thing, everytime you go out of someone's room on this floor, you MUST lock it behind you! That is the number one most important rule" He looked at her with a face that stern she would have turned to stone.
"I understand Dr" Dr. Martin nodded and smiled once he was certain that she understood the seriousness of all the rules and regulations of the hospital.
"Right then... Are you up for meeting some patients?" The doctor said with a grin, Lily's heart stopped and she gulped nervously, then slowly nodded her head in agreement. Better late than never.