Due to budget cuts, the budget for activities has been reduced to around 100 kroner per month per patient. The cut means that it is virtually impossible to organize activities outside the hospital, states Lasse Poulsen, who is the head nurse at A1 Sankt Hans Hospital.

– These are activities that are important for the treatment of involuntarily admitted patients. We are talking about a group of patients suffering from severe schizophrenia, and part of the treatment involves engaging in activities that are normal for other people, he explains.

With the donation from the Sol og Strand fund, it is possible to continue the rehabilitative activities, which, according to Lasse Poulsen, are important for patient treatment.

– They give us the opportunity to train social skills and thus prepare the patients for life after discharge from forensic psychiatry and prevent relapse into crime, he says.

The first activities have already been launched – these include organized museum visits, bowling trips, and visits to Refshaleøen.

– We involve the patients, who have the opportunity to express their wishes regarding what activities should take place. We take into account each individual's situation, and we have patients who can go as a group, while others need a trip where only staff accompany them, says Lasse Poulsen.

Over the past year, the department has succeeded in reducing the use of coercive treatment for patients to virtually zero, which Lasse Poulsen attributes in part to the rehabilitative activities.

– This helps create a good community, and we experience very satisfied patients who rarely end up in conflict with each other, he says.

Currently, there are 17 patients admitted in the closed forensic psychiatry unit A1 at Sankt Hans Hospital.