NEWS
Kier to deliver £60m Bexhill mental health hospital
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Kier to deliver a new £60 m, 54-bedded acute inpatient mental health hospital in Bexhill as part of its Re-designing Inpatient Services in East Sussex (RIS:ES) Programme. The facility’s construction is the first step in the Programme, which is aimed at providing all mental health inpatient services across East Sussex on a single site. The 57,393 ft2
facility, designed by
Gilling Dod, will provide high-quality inpatient services for adults, replacing outdated services currently provided in the Department of Psychiatry at Eastbourne District General Hospital. There will be three 18-bed wards, all with individual bedrooms and en suite bathrooms, surrounded by attractive, therapeutic landscaped green space, plus
outpatient services and training facilities for medical and other related professions. The building will be fully electric and highly insulated, with energy-efficient systems implemented to reduce energy usage and optimise environmental performance. The majority of the roof will include solar panels, and a range of electric vehicle charging points will be installed for
CQC guidance references Informed Choices scheme
The DiMHN’s Informed Choices Working Group had major cause for celebration at the end of last year, with NHS England’s new supplements to the HBN 03-01: Adult mental health units: planning and design, and HBN 03-02: Facilities for child and adolescent mental health services guidance documents containing multiple references to the work. DiMHN Chair, Philip Ross, said: “When the Design in Mental Health Network started the journey 7-8 years ago to create an independent evaluation of products for use in mental health spaces, having the testing scheme referenced within the highly influential guidance HBN 03-01 and 03-02 guidance documents was a distant dream. I’ve no doubt this will encourage more NHS Trusts to adopt, and in turn, more suppliers to conform to, a consistent means of discussing all forms of risk and comparing different products.” There is progress on many fronts on
consensus on best practice in ligature reduction and choice of the appropriate level of acceptable risk. In November the CQC, in collaboration with the Nursing Directorate, published new guidance for ligature reduction in mental health and learning disability environments. DiMHN CEO, Hannah Chamberlain, added: “Setting the standard and appropriate fittings is an issue clinical teams come across repeatedly. In devising the Informed Choices standard, the Working Group’s aspiration was that clinicians would not by default choose the most risk-averse, and potentially least therapeutic, option. The new CQC guidance supports this, suggesting the process of specifying products should involve multiple voices in the discussion.” The CQC recommend: l Creating a working group of relevant staff
THE NETWORK | FEBRUARY 2024
and experts by experience to discuss local environments, and influence the creation and review of local policy and procedures. These activities could include ward walkarounds specifically to consider fixtures, fittings, and furniture, in the context of safety and therapeutic value.
l Discussions on current data from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH), and shared learning from the National Mental Health and Learning Disability Nurse Directors Forum and local incident reports to understand areas for learning opportunities and environmental changes.
l Discussions that actively consider the holistic impact of the built environment when managing ligature harm risk (for example, therapeutic environment). Hannah Chamberlain added: “The useful addition the Informed Choices testing standard makes to clinical decision-making is to produce a common language to discuss product performance in testing. This enables a dispassionate conversation, which can include factors such as length of time
between staff/patient engagement, relational safety, and zoning of risk levels. “The Design in Mental Health Network
wants to actively promote cross-Trust and sector conversation on these issues to support decision-making. Our activity programme around Informed Choices this year reflects that aspiration in providing a forum for discussion and best practice conversation.” The programme includes:
l A webinar with film screening. l A workshop at the DiMH 2024 conference. l A brochure reprint with added content. l In-person events. For more information, see the links below, and sign up to the DiMHN’s mailing list.
https://dimhn.org/informed-choices/ https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance- providers/mhforum-ligature-guidance
Robust shower door can be personalised
Kingsway says its new anti-ligature Shower Door will not only help staff improve patient safety in mental health en-suite bathrooms and washroom areas, but will also help maintain service-user privacy and dignity. The company said: “The anti-ligature en-suite door offers a shatter-proof, impact-resistant solution, while its considered design ensures durable performance in wet environments through a combination of high-quality stainless steel, powder-coated aluminium, and high-strength polycarbonate components. Fixed to the frame to avoid weaponisation, and with both complete door system and retrofit options available, the door features a flexible fin to prevent ligature entrapment at the closing edge.” The Shower Door is customisable with bespoke imagery.
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maintenance teams, staff, and visitors. The car park will have ‘rain gardens’ that collect the surface water run-off, filtering it into a storm water attenuation tank before it is discharged directly into the ordinary watercourse. This prevents flooding and minimises impact on buildings and the environment. Cheryl Parsons, Regional director for Kier Construction Southern, said: “We are delighted to be appointed by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to deliver this new mental health hospital, which will provide improved and modernised services to the East Sussex region. We look forward to using our wealth of experience and expertise to deliver this first-class health facility sustainably, benefiting the community for years to come.”
Courtesy of Gilling Dod
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