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Pioneering a brighter future for mental health spaces

  • September 27, 2023
  • by Sponsored
Stantec Senior Mechanical Engineer Marta Talarska

Shifts in architectural and engineering thinking are changing mental healthcare by prioritising an enhanced experience for consumers, staff and visitors, emphasising patient dignity and aiding in their recovery journey at the core of mental health facility design.

In this new design ethos, every corner of the facility should exude a sense of respect for the consumers autonomy and the journey towards healing. Desings now strive to embrace natural light, thermal comfort and the ability for consumers to feel more at home.

Stantec Senior Mechanical Engineer Marta Talarska said there are three major groups that need to be front of mind when building such facilities: consumers, staff and visitors.

“The way the building and the structure of the model of care is organised, consumers need to be trusted in recovery that’s not forced on them.

“Then you have staff experience. This isn’t particularly easy place to work, so you need to give the staff opportunities for work satisfaction, career growth and collaboration that they can have within the space.

“And then the third aspect is the visitors experience. That space has to be accessible and provide adequate privacy.”

Striking the right balance between openness and privacy is essential, according to Ms Talarska.

Acoustic treatments play a vital role, allowing for confidential conversations between consumers and healthcare providers, creating an atmosphere where patients feel supported, their dignity intact and their voices heard.

The main thread binding these design considerations together is safety, Ms Talarska said, for both the consumers, staff and visitors.

According to Ms Talarska, this means that design elements must prioritise anti-ligature features, clear lines of sight and foster a sense of comfort for consumers within the facility.

The focus on safety, notably anti-ligature, impact resistant and tamper proof considerations, extends to various common objects throughout the space.

For instance, Ms Talarska said when considering air diffusion equipment, essentially grills on the ceiling, there is currently very limited range of products available on the market suitable for mental health facilities.

These particular products are designed to prioritise safety and security; its durability ensures it won’t break even if subjected to force. Additionally, it doesn’t have any components that could be tampered with, making it impossible to use the space for storing potentially harmful items all. The product is however compromising the thermal and acoustic comfort of the space. To minimise the impacts and provide best outcomes the sizing selection and the location of the diffuser needs to be carefully reviewed and planned.   

This consideration also applies to window design. Numerous facilities prioritise integrating natural light and greenery which is affecting the energy consumption of the building. The health facilities are constructed to last for many upcoming years, and they need to be designed with climate change and optimisation of the energy consumption in mind.

Granting a consumer the ability to operate their window for control of their personal environment can necessitate electronic controls to ensure consumer safety, while also providing a mechanism for staff to potentially intervene when needed. The operable windows can bring many benefits to the consumer recovery, but they also prove a challenge with the integration with wider air-conditioning system.

Australia, with its unique challenges, is striving for excellence in mental health facility design, however, bridging the gap between international products and local needs is a challenge.

“There isn’t that many products on the market at the moment that allow us to deliver those kinds of services that we would love to,” Ms Talarska said.

“There are more products and solutions overseas but bringing them to Australia is quite difficult and costly. But within the Australian environment, the biggest challenge is on how you make that space safe and comfortable while also providing staff and building maintenance personnel a building that is prepared for climate risks and will be sustainable to operate in the long perspective.  

“Australia has a scarce guidance and regulation when it comes to mental health design for engineering systems which make the mission difficult.

“There isn’t that much statutory requirements, standards or guidelines on how to design the spaces from engineering perspective. There is a lot of talk about anti-ligature and safety, but it doesn’t explain how you can achieve the requirements for thermal comfort or best control of air-conditioning and ventilation systems,” Ms Talarska said.

To find out more about the impact of good design on mental health facilities, visit https://www.stantec.com/en/markets/health/behavioral-health