our story
Open Up is the official charity of Devon Partnership NHS Trust, dedicated to improving mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services in Devon and beyond. We support both patients and healthcare teams, recognising that the wellbeing of NHS staff is essential for delivering best quality patient care. That’s why we’ve partnered with Your Charity Lottery to raise funds specifically to enhance staff wellbeing.
What We Do:
Open Up funds a wide range of initiatives to benefit patients, staff and carers. The money raised through Your Charity Lottery will be used to improve staff wellbeing, helping create comfortable breakout spaces, indoor and outdoor relaxation areas and wellness programs such as group exercise classes and gym equipment.
Together, We Support Wellbeing:
As the official charity for Devon Partnership NHS Trust, Open Up is committed to making a difference for both patients and staff. By supporting Your Charity Lottery, you help ensure NHS teams receive the support they need to continue providing excellent care. Together, we can make a lasting impact.
Quotes from some of our beneficiaries…
Charitable Funds enable our services to go that little further and provide the extras the NHS is unable to fund. This includes a sensory garden at the Beech Unit in Torbay. One patient said, “I love the new garden, it smells amazing and brings me closer to nature. I particularly enjoy watering the plants and seeing the flowers grow.”
Lewis Powell, Ward Manager at Beech Unit, said, “The charity enabled us to transform an area normally unused in to a sensory environment that provides a welcome release to staff and patients. The recreational space is a beautiful place to engage with one another, catch the sun and take a break from the hospital setting.”
Carrie Clarke, an Occupational Therapist at Franklyn Hospital in Exeter, said “Charitable Funds are so important because they allow us to offer unique experiences, which enrich lives and enable our patients to express themselves in ways that are important to them.”
Richard Wellington, Technical Instructor at New Leaf said, “Charitable Funds have had a positive impact on the vocational services we provide to help people to get back into the work place. Having access to these funds means that we are able go that extra mile and provide facilities otherwise unavailable to our service.”
Secretary Melanie Joslin said, “Access to the charitable funds was a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to improve the experience for the residents on our ward. Part of the work we do on Russell Clinic is to re-equip people with lost skills and gain new ones. Having the barbecues adds a different dimension to the usual cooking skills we teach and we have seen people who are not usually interested in social gatherings or cooking, join in. They will therefore be beneficial to all residents coming through Russell for years to come. We also hope to use them for many events in the future including fundraising for Charitable Funds.”
THE DIFFERENCE you could make
By participating in Your Charity Lottery, you directly contribute to improving the work environment for NHS staff, which leads to better care for patients. While Open Up supports many healthcare projects, the funds from the lottery are focused on enhancing staff wellbeing.
As Steve Smeeth, Head of Staff Health and Wellbeing from the Trust explains, "Your fundraising efforts have already made a huge difference. Donations have funded our free gym at Wonford House in Exeter, where colleagues can access tailored exercise programmes to maintain their physical and mental health".
Devon Partnership NHS Trust Charity, Wonford House, Dryden Road, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5AF Registered Charity No. 1056669