Inpatient Accommodation


Disability Nurse by background, who has been HPFT’s clinical services manager for Kingfisher Court for just over a year (having worked for the Trust for almost 20 years), echoed these sentiments: “Our aim at Kingfisher Court is to provide a facility that helps service-users, many of whom may be in crisis on admission, to make a sound recovery. The surroundings, internally and externally, are critical. With much of our existing estate, we have facilities in ageing hospital buildings. The accommodation there is simply not suitable for 21st-century mental healthcare. Here the surroundings will be far more conducive to recovery.


One particularly notable feature of the internal design that saved considerable time was the use of bathroom pods for all the en suite bathrooms. Manufactured off site, these were simply craned into place.


vaulted ceiling, which allows plenty of light in, the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) suite, and a ‘Section 136 ‘Place of Safety’ suite. Phase 1 (the northern block) was handed


over on 28 May 2014, with the first service- users admitted on 24 June 2014, while Phase 2 (the southern block) was handed over in October 2014.


HPFT says: “Quite different in character to


the ‘institutional’ mental healthcare facilities of old, Kingfisher Court has been designed to offer an environment which provides privacy and dignity to service-users, access to outside spaces, and effective therapies to aid in their recovery.”


DIFFERENT ACUITIES Mike Trigg said: “All 86 bedrooms will have en suite bathrooms, with the facilities organised into single and mixed gender wards. The wards are organised by adults who have functional mental ill health, frail functional (those with functional mental ill health with additional


‘The quality of the environment has been shown to make a significant difference in supporting recovery, and the bedrooms here are designed to be homely and non-institutional, light and airy, and comfortable’


needs such as mobility issues), and those with learning disabilities.” The accommodation, and the key facilities,


are split as follows: Phase 1: • Swift Ward – an 18-bedded mixed gender ward for adults with a functional mental illness.


• Wren Ward – a 16-bed mixed gender ward for frail functional adults.


• The Section 136 Place of Safety suite and ECT suite.


Phase 2: • Dove Ward – a 16-bed assessment and treatment ward for adults with a learning disability and a functional mental illness.


• Owl Ward – an 18-bed male ward for adults with a functional mental illness.


• Robin Ward – an 18-bed female ward for adults with a functional mental illness.


The HPFT’s clinical services manager for Kingfisher Court, Jacky Vincent, with Osborne project director, Mike Trigg.


16 THE NETWORK January 2015


TRANSFERRED FROM SEVERAL LOCATIONS HPFT’s external communications officer, Caroline Jacobi said: “This new facility really underlines our commitment to be the best-in- class mental healthcare provider organisation. The difference between some of our older mental health inpatient facilities, and this much more modern, fit-for-purpose environment, underlines how much we believe in good buildings’ impact on recovery.” Jacky Vincent, a Registered Learning


QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT “The quality of the environment has been shown to make a significant difference in supporting recovery, and the bedrooms here are designed to be homely and non- institutional, light and airy, and comfortable. Clinical champions, service- users, and carer representatives, have been integral to reviewing all the design processes. HPFT staff have also been


involved in all phases of design and interior design, with, for instance, modern, non- institutional furniture, and windows that allow patients to naturally ventilate their own rooms.


AIDING RECOVERY AND STIMULATING ACTIVITY “Alongside the attractive en suite bedroom accommodation, there is a wide range of facilities to aid recovery. These include beautifully constructed courtyards – both ‘active’ for sitting in, kicking a football around, or playing outdoor chess on a large board, and ‘passive’, with garden sculptures and a ‘labyrinth’, where service-users can enjoy some peace and relaxation, either alone, or one-to- one with a staff member. There is also a large, light, café bar, open to the public. The therapeutic facilities include a multi-purpose creative room, a therapy room with internal outside space, indoor and outdoor gym and sports equipment, and a horticultural therapy garden.


“Kingfisher Court also accommodates, (off


the link corridor to the south side of the north block), an ECT suite, for which we will be aiming for ECTAS Type 3 standards, the best achievable in terms of the environment, staffing quality, and standard of care,” Jacky Vincent explained.


SOUTH-FACING BEDROOMS “All the bedrooms are south-facing, to allow in the maximum light. There are multi-purpose rooms, interview rooms, calm and quiet rooms, and break-out areas, plus laundry facilities and delivery entrances.”


A RIGOROUS PROCESS Mike Trigg explained that the Trust is supplying all the furniture, and has gone through ‘quite a rigorous process’ to get the right components. – attractive fitted wardrobes and other elements. He said: “Bright colours against neutral backgrounds were used throughout, following the architects’ design. There is a lot of timber,


Courtesy of Osborne


Courtesy of Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust


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