How modern inpatient settings can improve

Speaking at the Design in Mental Health 2021 conference at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry in late August, Jane Ray, head of Hospital Inspections (Mental Health and Community Services) at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), gave an interesting insight into the Commission’s role in the mental health arena, and discussed some of its current work to improve the service-user and staff environment, taking account of patients’ and clinical teams’ views on what matters most to them. Sharing the stage was expert-by-experience, Kenita Watson, who recounted her difficult and painful experience as an inpatient, including being ‘sectioned’, and how such episodes had often left her feeling stripped of her privacy, dignity, and any sense of control.

Jane Ray and Kenita Watson’s joint first morning keynote address followed three separate opening conference presentations on ‘Collaborative Working’, ‘Experience Shaping Design’, and ‘Innovative Environments’ – each with a different chair, and was thus the event’s first opportunity for the DiMHN’s Chair, Philip Ross, to welcome guests. He said: “It’s really exciting to be here in person at last, and I’ve already enjoyed seeing everybody looking at the new offerings from different manufacturers on the exhibition floor. A big welcome to Design in Mental Health 2021. “I now,” he continued, “have the privilege of introducing the CQC’s Jane Ray, and expert-by-experience, Kenita Watson.”

He added: “When I first started thinking about how to introduce this session, my first thought was: ‘It’s the CQC – three letters that probably cause a lot of fear and trepidation for many NHS Trusts’. Within a very short time, however, I realised that, actually, Jane was there to do one thing – to keep an eye out for the patient, as if each was a family member or friend, or potentially ourselves. The CQC’s job is about ensuring the optimal care, and ultimately holding us all in the industry accountable to high standards. So, without further ado, I’m going to hand over to Jane and Kenita.”