RETIRING CHAIR Q&A
The inaugural meeting for the Better Bedroom initiative hosted by Britplas’s current-day chairman, Kevin Gorman, at the company’s headquarters in Warrington – the location (inset) of the first ‘mock-up’ of the inpatient bedroom (Jenny Gill is pictured with some of the first visitors to see it).
way, but the environment was changing. The beds were starting to be replaced by divan-style beds, there were some single rooms – some of these had carpets and patterned curtains; what a difference this made to the way you felt. Gradually, over the years, the environment did become more homely, and as those who know me will recognise, my crusade to get more carpets into units did have a little success in a number of places across the country.
Impact of a ‘sterile, hospital-like’ environment It was very clear to me the importance of the environment to recovery in mental health. When your life is spiralling out of control because of your mental state, being admitted to a sterile, hospital-style environment, devoid of colour and comfort, does not improve the way you feel; instead, it underlines the fact that you are ill, and that here is something else you can’t control. Everything becomes black and white. Regrettably, the acuity is increasing in the wards, which is leading yet again back to a more austere environment, although we can still bring in colour with lighting, decoration, and furnishings.
JB: Can you say a little about the juncture at which you first got involved in the DiMHN, and what its key priorities and focus were at that time?
JG: In 2006, as a member of a design team for a project, we were asked to visit Rathbone Low Secure Unit in Liverpool to
look at a new type of window. This was my first encounter with Joe Forster and Kevin Gorman, founding members of the DiMHN. Following this, I attended a few meetings at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) as and when I was able to, and exhibited at two conferences held there around 2007/8, the forerunners to our annual conference and exhibition. At that time, the DiMHN was a group of people located in the North West of England who were passionate about sharing knowledge with other like-minded people. As they remain now, their priorities and focus were to bring together, on the one hand, people with an interest in mental health design, whether as a designer of buildings, products, or services, and, on the other, the users of those facilities – staff, service-users, and visitors, to develop innovative solutions to challenges, and raise awareness of the importance of the environment to recovery.
JB: What were your own first contributions and input into the DiMHN, and what do you remember about the organisation when you joined it?
JG: In 2011 I was approached to project manage a ‘Better Bedroom’, the aim being to create a modern, homely, service-user bedroom offering a therapeutic and safe environment which would have a positive effect on outcomes. The bedroom in a mental health unit is the only personal and private space available to the service-user, and given that lengths of stay are generally
The Better Bedroom 2 proved a considerable draw for exhibition visitors at the Design in Mental Health 2015 event.
much longer than in the acute sector, it can be their ‘home’ for a number of weeks or months.
This was a highly successful initiative. We held open days for visitors to attend and view it, and within the space of a few months we had over a 1,000 people through its door, including the ProCure21 (as it was then) team, who went on to create the repeatable room based on the Better Bedroom, and used extensively across projects to this day.
In 2012 I was co-opted to the Board of directors, and in 2013 appointed Chair. The Network was growing, and during this period the Board became more structured and focused, developing policies and procedures to govern the way we worked. We created workstreams, led by a Board director. We applied for, and obtained, charitable status for the organisation. At this point we had no income, having been reliant on founder members, Kevin Gorman of Britplas, and Jerry Smith of Primera, to assist. For the Better Bedroom, many companies offered products, expertise, and commitment, to ensure its success. We then looked, in 2014, to introduce an annual subscription for commercial companies, which would allow us to undertake other projects. October 2014 also saw the first issue of this magazine published.
JB: Looking back over your time as Chair of the Network, what do you believe have been the organisation’s most notable achievements?
First and second iterations of the Better Bedroom, an initiative on which Jenny Gill was asked to lead. THE NETWORK | JANUARY 2021 11
©Kevin Gorman/Britplas
©Oxford Architects
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