Inpatient Accommodation


Figure 3: Sketches of the Repeatable Rooms final proposals.


Figure 2: Members of the Design in Mental Health Network were actively involved in the various development workshops.


room designs and a second wave of standardised components were initially launched in February 2014; all designs, BIM models, and technical drawings, were made available via the ProCure21+ Club StandardShare site.


POST-PROJECT EVALUATION The completion of a first wave of ProCure21+ schemes using the repeatable rooms and standardised components is due to be subjected to post-project evaluation to capture best practice and lessons learnt. This information will be used to update designs where necessary, and updates will also respond to changes in models of care and any applicable legislation and regulation. A process of supplier review and development is continually monitoring performance, suitability, and best value, of the standard components.


STANDARDISATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH The rigorous approach to evidence and testing has yielded a mental health bedroom design that is proven and more cost-effective than other alternatives within the mental health sector. A roll-out event recently held in London launched the room arrangements to the NHS, and confirmed high interest from mental health Trusts.


Members of the Design in Mental Health


Network were actively involved in the various development workshops (see Fig. 2), and a visit early in the process to the Better Bedroom mock-up in Warrington was held to review the work that led to this Bedroom being created. Feedback from the many visitors who have subsequently seen it has also been incorporated.


A LACK OF COMMON STANDARDS During the research and development process, an early discovery of a lack of common standards across the NHS meant different development methods had to be used in the early stages to gain evidence of best practice. We found that the usual process of specification


‘In short, the Repeatable Rooms programme achieves improvements in patient outcomes, while achieving cost-savings required by Government and in the interests of the NHS’


is for a mental health Trust to test, individually, up to half a dozen components for use in their own setting. We believe that is wasteful of resources – the introduction of standardised components will entail a massive saving in programme time and manpower. There is also likely to be a significant cost


saving associated with the standardisation exercise. Some component suppliers calculate that they spend up to £100,000 each year on sending sample products to Trusts for testing, and have to add that on to the cost of products themselves.”


QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTED A similar lack of relevant research led to a questionnaire being constructed in focus-group meetings. This invited clinical staff in mental health facilities to give feedback on the functions of patient bedrooms, items included in bedrooms and bathrooms, levels of patient control, and aspects of patient and staff safety. The results of the questionnaire were discussed with representatives of mental health Trusts from across the UK. In September 2014, the Standardisation team held a workshop with arts organisation, Mental Fight Club, enabling mental health service-users to review a 1:6 scale model of the repeatable room arrangements. Feedback and comments were incorporated into the designs. Early adopters of the mental health


repeatable room designs have been able to visit a mock-up of the Functional Mental Health bedroom at Thorlux Lighting’s Redditch


showroom. This has proved valuable for management and staff to see and feel the space ahead of design sign-off and construction – beneficial for obtaining feedback on the proposed arrangements. The Royal College of Nursing Mental Health forum and other key stakeholders have also been able to visit and help shape the final Repeatable Room proposals. (see Fig. 3).


RECOMMENDATIONS AND EXEMPLARS Because the use of components across the mental health sector is diverse, the standardisation development process has challenged suppliers to identify the best component in a given range, in terms of safety, quality, and cost. In parallel, mental health Trusts were asked to give information regarding current specified components. The final standardised components ‘menu’ therefore comprises a recommendation for a specific component, with a list of Trusts where exemplars of use can be found. Unlike the acute sector, which encompasses


a wide variation in bedroom sizes, the mental health sector bedroom is already pretty much optimised for space usage. Savings on footprint will therefore be minimal. However, ancillary savings at planning, design, and construction stage are all extremely worthwhile. Preliminary estimates indicate a saving of around 2% on the building costs alone, and the same amount on NHS client costs as regards staff time saved in design and consultation meetings.


THE NETWORK April 2015 27


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