Hospital Project
This covers all aspects in the development of the new units including the model of care and ensuring that the design of the new buildings creates a therapeutic environment.
Service users, carers and clinicians are involved in this process and their views have helped to inform the output specification. This is a detailed document that will inform the architects of what is needed from the new units and describes how they will operate. A great deal of research went into producing this document and the views captured at involvement events have been reflected in it.
The process of involving people in the development of the new units began in June 2007. Two events were held to capture the views of people that wil be using the new units and the clinicians that will be working in them.
Feedback from service users and carers
The feedback from these events helped to establish key themes that needed to be addressed in the planning process. The initial areas to focus on included the service model, the physical environment, the therapeutic environment, physical healthcare and workforce. Task groups were established to take this forward and their work has also informed the output specification. The Hospital Project has achieved its outcome of being able to describe in detail to the architects what the trust wants and is ready to hand over to them so that they can get started on the designs.
The trust has appointed BDP as its architects. Clinical reference groups are being set up to work with the architects to ensure that key people continue to be involved in the design process and that the unit meets everyone’s needs. The architects will work with the groups to make their ideas and the trust’s vision real, which is:
• Attractive therapeutic environments
• Hotel quality accommodation from reception desk to bedside to check out
• ‘Wardlets’ of 15 beds
• Effective talking therapies readily available
• New approaches to care and activity planning.