CAMHS FACILITIES


Ancora House in Chester is a two-storey, 26-bed facility that includes four specialist beds, day spaces, a central nurse station, and a seclusion suite. It provides CAMHS services, through inpatient and day patient care (Tier 4), for children and young people with severe and/or complex mental health conditions. Centre: Lounge space. Right: The reception and family waiting area.


mental health schemes. These can be not only challenging to designers and providers, but also offer tremendous opportunities, if approached correctly, to deliver great schemes and designs. From experience, key characteristics can include: l A sense of place and identity, with a strong narrative to link the project together. De-stigmatising without patronising service-users. More than bricks and mortar.


l ‘Appropriate/young- person focused design’, whatever that is? Undefined, and subject to contrasting perceptions and definitions.


l A transient service-user cohort and relatively short stay length. Neither a child nor an adult. An under- represented demographic in design and client teams, with more need for a youthful perspective.


l Mixed gender use. Shared/communal spaces and activities, all as part of the recovery model. Normalisation.


l Eating disorder (‘ED’) treatments. Focus on dining and food-orientated areas, a key battleground/trigger point and source of anxiety. Body dysmorphia and symbolism. Acoustics and smells.


l Associated physical health issues from EDs. Heart conditions, muscle degradation, long-term fertility risks, feeding tubes, medication, and rehabilitation.


l Engagement and communication. A hard-to-reach service-user group, withdrawn and introspective. Creating spaces to promote incentives and motivations to communal interaction. Part of the recovery process.


l Educational aspects. Learning requirements, integrated school areas within the design, Ofsted compliance, and normalisation/daily structure.


l Families and carers can be just as much service-users as the young people in crisis, i.e. whole family treatment. Visiting and connection with home is vital in CAMHS recovery. Shared responsibilities for care.


l Public misunderstandings and misconceptions. CAMHS units are not paediatric departments, Young Offender Units, Special Education Needs schools, community clinics, or adult mental health units. Rather they are a unique, constantly evolving service still seldom discussed in polite conversation, despite epidemic levels of use/need. The building plays its part in 'rebranding'.


l Acuity under-estimation; although for young people, the environment still needs to deliver very robust and secure settings. Risk not to be underestimated or ‘rose-tinted’.


l Importance of external space. Needs to have clearly defined function, activity, and structure, and to be accessible and informal, with physical exercise and controlled ‘burn off’.


Critical success factors in CAMHS projects


Reflecting on our most successful CAMHS projects, certain critical success factors repeatedly come to mind: l A shared vision. A committed client, committed design team, and committed contractor – all wanting the same


outcome, are key. The right team/right approach/right procurement route.


l Design champions, advocates, and project sponsors at Trust Board level, who are committed to the project, are invaluable. Keep the eyes on the prize.


l Robust and appropriate budgets from the outset. Manage expectations and don’t over-promise. Shared decision making. Open and transparent governance.


l Avoid assumption. Constantly challenge previous assumed wisdom. Listen. Keep innovating and utilise POE.


l Build quality and robustness cannot be sacrificed for aesthetics. Educated supply chains, not just main contractors; the devil is in the detail.


l Meaningful and ‘real’ service-user engagement. Let go of the design at key stages, let young people have a voice and influence the end-product. Instil a sense of ownership, belonging, collaboration, and pride. Be inclusive.


l Utilise social media to connect to all stakeholders; not just in operation, but throughout design. A force for good if used correctly.


l Take the clinical team with you. Design must work operationally. Appreciate clinical drivers. Get the brief nailed down early.


l Engage with the market. Stimulate design innovation at all levels, for example Kingsway CAMHS-specific door designs, Teal imaginative furniture; Recornect media walls, Oxehealth monitoring, Britplas windows etc.


l Keep it fun, and people will keep turning up to meetings.


Junction 17, a specialist Tier 4 CAMHS unit for young people aged 13-17 in Prestwich. Right: A seclusion suite in the Junction 17 PICU ward. 22 JANUARY 2021 | THE NETWORK


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