NEWS


FWP delivers ‘inspiring’ new CAMHS facility in Stockport


An ‘inspiring new home’ for CAMHS services in Stockport, delivered by architects, FWP, has opened its doors. The practice’s specialist Mental Health


team led on the project for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. Created in Stopford House in the centre of Stockport, the new CAMHS facility is part of a wider refurbishment of the building for Stockport Council, set for completion later this year. It will help children on their journey to recovery, and offer support to the children, their carers, and parents, with conditions including anxiety, autism, depression, psychosis, self- harm, ADHD, and ASD. Alongside input from the clinical team, ideas on the layout and interior design were gathered from young people and their families, resulting in a ‘modern and bright’ new location, with 18 themed rooms for treatment and support. FWP says its design ‘began with the


service-user’s journey’ – starting with ‘a clear, bright, identifiable entrance with excellent signage and graphics’. It said: “Once inside, the reception area is far detached from the typical CAMHS environment, with a modern look that includes a slatted timber and moss wall. The centre has been designed to lower anxiety, create interest, and not to be too complex or confusing.” All design elements known to benefit people with neurodiversity conditions were


Toolkit to improve design and access in GP practices


FTSE 250-listed real estate investment trust, Assura, has launched a ‘toolkit’ to help GP practices improve their buildings, and the physical environment for people with disabilities and conditions such as dementia, neurodiversity, and anxiety. The ‘Designing for Everyone’ kit collates


implemented. Signage is easy to read and understand, while soft colours feature throughout. A secure corridor space housing the therapy rooms has been widened to lower anxiety, and incorporates open spaces with built-in seating areas, timber slatted and graphic walls, and plenty of colour. Each room’s door has a graphical image depicting its theme, and a unique design on the walls, chosen by the young people the service supports. Themes include waterfalls, Dr Who, orangutans, space, elephants, music, and mountains, with a large tropical island-themed room for art / group therapy. Open plan office areas are set up to enable collaborative working. There are also ‘virtual’ meeting pods and touch-down acoustically treated meeting spaces, and a ‘chill-out space’ and library.


£150 m government boost for mental health


Anyone experiencing a mental health emergency will benefit from more tailored emergency care and support in the community through specialised mental health ambulances, more crisis services, and improved health-based places of safety, the Department of Health & Social Care announced on 23 January.


A £150 m investment up to April 2025 will ‘better support people experiencing – or at risk of experiencing – mental health crises to receive care and support in more appropriate settings outside A&E’. Patients presenting with mental health problems are twice as likely to spend 12 hours or more in emergency departments than other patients. The funding will allow the procurement


of up to 100 new mental health ambulances to take specialist staff directly to patients to deliver support ‘on scene’, or transfer them to the most appropriate care location, and fund 150 new projects centred on supporting mental health crisis response and urgent mental healthcare


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provision. These will include over 30 schemes providing crisis cafés, crisis houses, and other similar safe spaces, and over 20 new or improved health-based places of safety. Health and Social Care


Secretary, Steve Barclay (pictured), said: “These schemes – along with up to 100 new mental health ambulances – will give


patients countrywide greater access to high-quality, tailored support when needed the most.” Backed by £7 m in government funding,


the new ambulances will ‘provide a calmer environment’, avoiding the bright yellow interior of ‘traditional’ NHS ambulances, and using simple NHS service logos, dimmable lighting, and space for family and friends to accompany patients during assessment. The remaining £143 million of capital funding will go toward the 150 new projects – including new mental health urgent assessment and care centres, and the redesign / refurbishment of existing mental health suites and facilities – including in emergency departments.


FEBRUARY 2023 | THE NETWORK


best practice on design aspects including colour, lighting, acoustics, fixtures and fittings, wayfinding, artwork, and use of space – giving primary care sites the chance to assess their environments, and ‘find small, low-cost actions to improve them for everyone’. Assura explained: “The tools can be used by practice managers, premises teams, and patient groups, to better understand how the design and layout of their building works for people with a range of needs. It’s believed to be the first integrated resource of its kind to focus specifically on design principles to support people living with dementia, neurodiversity, and conditions like anxiety.” Written by the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester, the toolkit draws on research into best practice design for these user groups, and earlier studies with Assura by the national charities, Dimensions and the Patients Association. It will form part of Dimensions’ suite of training resources for general practice in its #MyGPAndMe campaign, and will also be rolled out by Assura in its approach to designing new primary care buildings, and delivering extension and improvement works to existing sites. The launch follows Dimensions’


2019-20 research with disabled people on their experiences of primary care buildings, which found that just 22% of respondents felt independent in health centre environments, under half felt toilet facilities met their needs, and almost half felt ‘worried’ in such environments. To download the ‘Designing for


Everyone’ guide, summary assessment tool, and full assessment tool, visit: http://www.dimensions-uk.org/ designingforeveryone


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