At May’s Design in Mental Health Network 2016 conference at the National Conference Centre in Solihull, the Design in Mental Health Network (DIMHN) and the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units (NAPICU) announced that they would be working together to create new design guidance for psychiatric intensive care units.
Speaking on the day the news was announced, 18 May, Jenny Gill, chair of DIMHN, said: “Today marks the start of an exciting and challenging joint venture for the Design in Mental Health Network (DIMHN) and the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (NAPICU). Both are not-for-profit organisations. NAPICU is committed to developing and promoting the speciality of psychiatric intensive care and low secure services. The Association is dedicated to improving the patient experience and outcomes, and to promoting staff support and development within psychiatric intensive care units and low secure units.
“DIMHN, meanwhile, aspires to improve and enhance the built environment, and aims to share best practice in design and to create improved and innovative solutions to aid recovery.
“NAPICU has recently issued a number of guidance documents, including the National Minimum Standards for Psychiatric Intensive Care in General Adult Services. Following a meeting late in 2015 between myself and Dr Faisil Sethi, vice-chairman of NAPICU (a consultant psychiatrist and PICU lead consultant at the Psychosis Clinical Academic Group at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust), it was agreed that the two organisations, working together, could create a greater synergy.
“Working together, we developed the scope and a programme for a joint working group to create and develop a design guidance to compliment the standards. The document will highlight specific requirements for psychiatric intensive care units which are not included within the Health Building Note (HBN) 03-01 – Adult acute mental health units.”
Work on drafting the new guidance has already begun. The programme will include a number of events, including a stakeholder listening event, and wider consultation through the DIMHN and NAPICU networks, with publication of the final document planned for December this year.