NEWS
Strong speaker line-up for Birmingham event
The 2015 Design in Mental Health Conference, Exhibition, & Dinner – ‘an event for everyone with an interest in mental health – from the professionals involved in creating, maintaining, and delivering mental healthcare facilities, to service providers and service-users’ – takes place from 19-20 May at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. This year’s DIMH conference will provide a
Wendy de Silva.
forum for those keen to explore how to enhance the therapeutic qualities of the built environment without compromising safety or security. Speakers will include: • Wendy de Silva, BSc DipArch RIBA, Director, P+HS Architects Wendy Da Silva is an award-winning
architect and director of P+HS Architects with over 20 years’ design experience, with particular interest and expertise in the healthcare sector. Her most recently completed project is Kingfisher Court, a £42 m adult mental healthcare scheme for Hertfordshire
Alex Caruso. Jonathan Wilson.
Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. • Alex Caruso, Managing director & Principal, ACA+I Ltd Alex Caruso is an architect and founder of
ACA+I Ltd. Harnessing sketches, 3D communication software, and over 15 years’ experience designing healthcare facilities in England, Spain, and Italy, his main focus is ‘to create people-centred, sustainable, and holistic buildings that inspire’. • Jonathan Wilson, Principal and sector leader for Healthcare, Stantec UK. Jonathan Wilson leads the healthcare sector team at Stantec UK, developing and directing
Inpatients experiencing long stays Heading TXT
Over half of the 23,600 inpatients on mental health wards in English facilities on 31 March 2014 had been in hospital for 117 days or more, a report published recently by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) reveals. The Mental Health Bulletin shows that
for every 100 occupied beds, fewer than one person is discharged per day (0.7). The fact that so many inpatients are spending months in hospital reduces hospitals’ capacity to accept new admissions, the HSCIC adds. Among the report’s findings were:
• The number of people in contact with mental health services rose by 9.8%,
local and international projects. He has led a wide range of projects, involving mental health centres, clinics, community centres, and hospitals. His Bluestone Mental Health Unit at Craigavon Area Hospital, Northern Ireland, won the Best Mental Healthcare Building award in the 2008 Building Better Health Awards.
EXHIBITION The exhibition will provide ‘a unique opportunity to meet with suppliers and see their latest products and services’. The organisers said: “The exhibitors will be keen to hear about the challenges healthcare providers and estates teams face in managing inpatient facilities, and to offer solutions. Essentially, the insight that the mental healthcare community provides drives innovation.”
For more information, and to register: visit
www.designinmentalhealth.com or telephone: 01892 518877.
Trapped finger issue
• 6% of people in contact with
from 1.6 million in 2012/13 to 1.75 million in 2013/14.
• The median length of stay for people who had been discharged from mental health
mental health services (105,300) spent some time as a hospital inpatient during 2013/14. In 2012/13 this figure was 6.6% (105,200).
inpatient services during 2013/14 was 23 days.
Audit trail for digital door locks
Codelocks has launched a digital lock that simplifies control and monitoring of door access. The CL5000AT records the use
of individual access codes in an audit trail log – useful where protecting controlled assets is key, as the lock will also register incorrect code attempts. “The software we’ve created
makes it much easier for estates teams to programme and analyse the use of multiple digital locks under their control,” said Grant Macdonald, Codelocks MD. To find out who went through the door, and
when, users can download and review the activity data using a USB memory stick, and
6 THE NETWORK January 2015
analyse the data on a computer. Each lock has a unique number, facilitating reviewing the door activity from many different locks using the supplied software. “The software also significantly reduces the time it takes to programme access codes and lock settings,” added Grant Macdonald. “For example, managers
might want to restrict
access during certain times of the day or week. They can programme time-sensitive access codes using the data management software in minutes, and copy settings from one lock to another.”
addressed Door hinges, and small fingers getting trapped in them, continue to pose a health and safety issue in many sectors, says door protection technology specialist, Intastop. Such scenarios could, however, soon
become less frequent, with the company’s launch of a finger safety hinge which should prevent fingers being caught in the hinge opening side of the door. Intastop explained: “The unique continuous geared mechanism allows door hinges to rotate smoothly without creating the typical gap where small fingers can fit.” Alongside its safety benefits, the Finger
Safety Hinge is impact-resistant, and ‘discreet enough to be aesthetically pleasing’. Intastop added: “Performance tested to 1.5 million cycles, it is robust enough to support any level of usage, and guaranteed to last the door’s lifetime. This makes it commercially viable in comparison to traditional (knuckle) hinges, which may require regular replacement in heavily trafficked areas. Little or no maintenance is required, due to the even weight distribution of the door in comparison to alternative hinges, where the weight is centred in certain points.” The Finger Safety
Hinge is fire tested to BS476: Part 20 & 22 for 30 minutes.
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