Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s annual award-winning ‘LYNFEST’ festival, for inpatients experiencing mental health conditions and their families, is to return on Wednesday 19 December for a special winter celebration, ‘LYNFROST’.

The music and arts festival has been a hit with service users, carers and staff at the Trust’s Lynfield Mount Hospital since it first began in summer 2016. It originally formed part of the ‘recovery college’, relating to some of the Trust’s male inpatient areas, to help them in their recovery from mental illness. It soon grew to be fully inclusive of anyone staying in the Trust’s care, including patients and staff at Airedale Centre for Mental Health.

‘LYNFROST’ will see favourite elements of the summer event return with a seasonal twist. Entertainment will include an original ‘panto-drama’, written, directed by and starring patients and staff at Lynfield Mount Hospital, which uses humour to highlight the importance of acceptance and tolerance, and the damage that can be caused by being judgmental. There will also be a live band, craft activities including card-making and cake-decorating, a live sing-along and a photo booth to capture the excitement on the day.

Bev Knaggs, Specialist Inpatient Services Manager at the Care Trust said: “We’re excited to be holding the Trust’s first ever LYNFROST festival. These events take teamwork, which forms an important part of an individual’s recovery and creates a real sense of community within the hospital. We’re looking forward to seeing all the hard work pay off and hope that the day will be a success. It will be a really special way to mark the winter solstice and look forward to the New Year.”