NEWS
Guide focuses on improving seclusion space design
Interviews and discussions with both service- users who have experienced such inpatient accommodation and practice, and clinical staff, informed the content of the Design in Mental Health Network’s latest ‘Design with People in Mind’ booklet, The Seclusion Issue, published in June. Co-authored by two DiMHN directors,
Professor Paula Reavey, Professor of Psychology at London South Bank University, Professor Steven Brown, Professor of Health and Organisational Psychology at
Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, and Research associate at London South Bank University, Isobel Thomas, this is the eighth ‘Design with People in Mind’ guide published to date. The series was originally established by Professor Reavey and London South Bank University. The authors acknowledge that ‘creating
spaces for privacy and observation, while retaining dignity and reducing risk’, are ‘central’ to good design in mental healthcare facilities. However, they acknowledge that seclusion spaces ‘present a very specific challenge in maintaining this balance’ – with research showing that ‘patients on the whole dislike current seclusion spaces and practices, and can even be traumatised by their experiences, especially if seclusion involves lengthy periods of time without human contact in a sterile space’. The Seclusion Issue draws on the available
literature relating to several topics around seclusion, and interviews with service- users and clinicians, both to highlight their experiences, and determine important factors such as the impact of seclusion environments – ‘good and bad’ – on the
Machynlleth hospital redevelopment ‘to serve generations’
Construction has been completed in the ‘significant redevelopment’ of Bro Ddyfi Community Hospital in North Wales, creating an integrated health and wellbeing facility on the site of the former Machynlleth Union Workhouse, initially built in 1860. The multidisciplinary facility houses
staff / patient relationship. The authors also explore ‘how trauma-informed care perspectives might help navigate alternative routes through
the design and delivery of seclusion’; and whether there is ‘good evidence’ for current seclusion space design. Also examined are ‘alternatives to seclusion’ – such as sensory rooms, and ‘whether there may be the capacity to introduce an element of patient choice into seclusion design’. Chapters cover topics including: l Seclusion and quiet rooms ‘as container spaces’.
l Design with seclusion in mind. l Staff and patient experiences of seclusion. l De-escalation spaces: the move towards sensory rooms.
l Trauma-informed environments: what should we consider for seclusion? Copies of The Seclusion Issue are
downloadable for DiMHN members. For information on joining the Network, visit
https://dimhn.org/plans/choose-a- subscription/
Britplas Safevents for older patient facility Working for Kier, the contract
Britplas has been selected to provide the windows and glazing for a new inpatient facility for Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust at Dorothy Pattison Hospital in Walsall.
encompasses the design, manufacture, and installation, of the company’s Safevent Access windows, along with curtain walling and doors. Being built to accommodate older patients, the new unit will house a 15-bedded functional ward and a 10-bedded dementia ward, and will replace the current facilities at Bloxwich Hospital.
Britplas will be on site in the third
quarter of this year, with the new facility expected to open in 2024.
THE NETWORK | AUGUST 2023 7
community and primary healthcare, adult mental health treatment, outpatient facilities, and women’s and children’s clinics. Operating under Perfect Circle’s ‘unique collaboration’, independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy, Pick Everard, was appointed through the SCAPE Consultancy Framework to provide specialist project management, cost management, and CDM advisory services, with Willmott Dixon delivering the design and construction. Alex Dovey, director of Project Management at Pick Everard, said: “Working with an existing site always brings unique challenges. There were several instances where collaborative efforts across the delivery team were critical to success, such as securing the business case for funding, and amendments to the design – born from concerns over the existing timber frame’s ability to bear a second storey load.” The scheme responded to targets set out in the Welsh Government’s publication, Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales, with a decarbonisation report developed by the design team as part of the Full Business Case. Additional Welsh Government funding allowed ‘a number of fabric and MEP interventions that successfully impacted the building’s CO2
emissions’. These included fitting solar panels between the natural slate roof tiles – helping the building conform with the planning constraints of a conservation area, and enhanced insulation, with triple glazing to improve acoustic and thermal performance. To provide further positive social impact, the team engaged with local schools, with students helping design the therapeutic gardens. Pictured is Welsh Health Minister, Eluned Morgan, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new facility.
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