Communication Technology


Looking ahead, I asked Erik Kuijpers


whether, in future, he and his business partner envisaged the Cowall not only being used in Comfort, Support, and Seclusion rooms, but also in individual bedrooms. He said: “In fact we have already developed smaller versions for individual rooms in response to considerable potential commercial interest. The two smaller versions are called Cowin-46 and Cowin-32. The software is exactly the same as in the Cowall; the smaller units also have intelligent touchscreens.”


Britplas chairman, Kevin Gorman, using the Cowin-46 recently installed within the DIMHN Better Bedroom, which is hosted at Britplas’s Warrington headquarters.


Service-users can access their own pictures, which can easily be uploaded to the system by staff, or create their own art using a ‘simple, but innovative’ drawing program. Drawings are saved into a personal folder, and can be exported to take home, or for printing.


function: the nurse will be equipped with a small tablet-type device, and can thus always be in contact with the patient. This ‘app’ includes a video facility, so that nurses and patients can see each other. This can be invaluable for the nurse in, for instance, picking up changes in mood apparent in the patient’s face.”


NEED FOR A COMMUNICATION TOOL Erik Kuijpers went on to explain that one of the main findings from discussions with service- users was the need for an effective communication tool, via which inpatients could, for instance, enjoy social encounters, e.g. via videoconferencing. He said: “For this purpose, a secure Skype-like application was designed, via which staff have full control of who is added to the individual patient’s contact list. Each contact person receives an email with a link and access code. The registration process takes seconds, after which a direct communication link can be initialised between the service-user and family or friends. If desired, a nurse could, for example, determine that the calling facility would only be available, say, between 8.00 and 9.00 pm.


RELAXATION THEMES “While the video communication feature is extremely valuable,” Erik Kuijpers explained, “also important is the relaxation theme. One of the interesting findings of research into what can best help to calm mental healthcare patients in a distressed state is that, at their most ‘upset and out of control’, watching television may not be a good thing. For example, a patient might hear on the news about somebody being shot dead, and may momentarily believe the victim is a family member. A more effective approach is to bring in calm and predictable elements, which explains why we have incorporated 10 relaxing themes within the software to date.


“One of the components we have already developed,” he continued, “is a slide show of Delft, a city particularly known for its pottery, which is close to a mental healthcare facility run by one of our customers. Many of the service- users in this particular facility may thus already have visited Delft, or will know it well, providing them with reassurance. We have also developed a slide show of seaside scenes, plants opening using time lapse photography, and images of mountains. These videos are just the start; we are not yet certain which relaxation themes and tools work best, but, through research, will discover which elements have most impact in calming service-users. Another video shows passengers getting in and out of a tram during a journey in Rotterdam. Those filmed do not look into the camera, and thus ‘enter’ the patient’s room intrusively; rather the service-user feels that they too are on the journey, and ‘part of society’.”


USER PROFILE TRANSFERRABLE Nurses or clinicians looking after inpatients in a mental healthcare facility can adjust the functionality and features available to each patient on their Cowall using their ‘tablet’, meaning each patient has their own ‘profile’. Erik Kuijpers added: “Where the Cowall is used in a single room, the patient’s user profile can be taken with them, and their access to certain ‘apps’ etc. could, for instance, be adjusted to be quite different from what was originally available to them in, say, a Seclusion room, once they are back on the ward in a calmer state.” Having now showcased the considerable potential of the Cowall in different applications, and for patients in different stages of acuity, Erik Kuijpers and Cor Datema have recently begun visiting potential customer sites both in the Netherlands and the UK, and in other European countries, to explain more about the benefits to clinical and estates and facilities personnel.


SOLID ‘COMFORTING SCREEN’ FEATURE The main difference between the two Cowin units and the Cowall, he explained, is that the smaller Cowin units do not incorporate the ‘glow’ feature of the larger Cowall; with this the screen projects a solid ‘comforting’ screen colour when, for example, the ‘apps’ are not in use. The ‘glow’ feature can also be used to project changing colours. Erik Kuijpers explains: “Potential customers


to date have felt that the larger Cowall device would suit, say, a seclusion area, but have generally favoured smaller units for single rooms. We have thus developed different-sized units. The beauty of the software is that all the functionality available on the larger Cowall can be incorporated into one of the Cowin units. The basis of all the communication walls is to give patients back some ‘control’, whether through communication with loved ones and friends, the ability to note down their thoughts, or to control their blinds, lighting, and ventilation. We also see considerable potential for our drawing ‘app’, something service-users tell us they like; the software enables them to save drawings to show visitors later. When I worked as a nurse, those service-users wanting to draw – an excellent release of energy – tended to have to use white boards, which were wiped clean every day.”


FIRST SHOWN IN THE UK AT DESIGN IN MENTAL HEALTH The Cowall system was first shown (in prototype form) in the UK in May 2013, at the Design in Mental Health conference and exhibition in Solihull, and, since then, the system, a large


Cor Datema during a Cowin module installation. The device’s toughened glass includes a special touch foil to give a quality of touch ‘resembling that of modern mobile devices like the iPad’.


THE NETWORK January 2015 21


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