REVIEW


M


ental health trusts need to think more long term and put patient and staff needs above cost when


commissioning new developments. This was one of the take-home


messages from the 2018 mental health & dementia facilities forum, held in Northamptonshire in November. Organised by Stable Events, sister


company to mhdf magazine publisher, Stable Publishing; the two-day networking opportunity offered suppliers of specialist mental health and dementia products and services the opportunity to meet key decision-makers involved in the design and construction of health and care facilities. As well as a series of pre-arranged


meetings, the forum also featured three keynote sessions, fronted by experts


from the field of mental health and dementia design. The talks kicked off with Chris Dzikiti,


programme manager at North London Partners in Health and Care and deputy treasurer at the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (NAPICU).


He was at the event to unveil long-


awaited new design guidance focusing on the creation of modern psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs). The former mental health nurse said:


“On my first day walking into a mental health hospital in 1999 I remember thinking how awful it was. “I always wondered how we can


have places like this designed to care for people who are vulnerable and distressed and needing help.


“We have to have the courage to design something more innovative and something that will be a vision for the future.”


GAINING CONTROL The NAPICU design guidance, formulated with the support of the Design in Mental Health Network, covers 10 chapters, focusing on some of the most-important considerations including access to outdoor space, lighting and wayfinding. Dzikiti said: “PICUs house some of


the most-disturbed patients and people who have lost control of themselves. “It’s important, therefore, that we


create an environment that gives them the best experience of the service and the best chance of recovery.”


Thinking of the future


Here we look at some of the key messages from the 2018 mental health & dementia facilities forum


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mhdf magazine


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