Radical ordinariness: the women's service in Purley

The Women's Service in Purley, Greater London, is radically different from these stereotypes.  A large 1930s house on the road out of Purley, it houses up to eight women at a time who are going through a mental health crisis.   Inside, there are bundles of NHS leaflets on the windowsills and the odd reminder of smoking regulations, but otherwise it's an ordinary house.  There are no locks on the doors, and users congregate on sofas in the front room, or draw in the art room. 

Staff provide structured sessions for talking about problems in the morning, and art in the afternoon.  Reiki and reflexology is offered once a week.

The great feature of the house though, is its garden.  One corner has raised beds for growing vegetables - elsewhere there's seating, a waterfall and flowerbeds.  Cold air blowing in from the North Downs gives the place a remote feel, even on the edges of London.

Ward manager Sarah Wood explains that while some women are referred from mental hospitals, others can self-refer to the project.  The house does have some restrictions: patients at risk of being violent can't be admitted - equally many people who are not acutely ill and could be treated with lesser interventions, also have to be turned away.  But for their niche user group, the Women's Service is a vital refuge.  Women can stay for up to three weeks.

One woman using the service said 'When I think of Foxley's Lane Women's Service, I think of the words - sanctuary, calm, oasis and more than that, hope... I can at last start planning for the future I never planned to have.  There should be more facilities like this'

Another says 'My getting better has been quicker than I could ever have hoped for; I was in an acute ward for a week before coming here and felt no improvement.  Here we are beginning to make plans for me to leave after 2 weeks, so my going home in a week's time is wonderful.'

The most striking thing about the service is the difficulty in telling the difference between staff and patients.  As we took these pictures, some of the patients who were feeling better came up for a chat.  The stigma of the illness is suspended here.  Although 24hour care is on hand, it's as close as possible to being a bunch of women living in a house.