Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T20:10:42.862Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Architectural design and acute psychiatric care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Rizwan Taj*
Affiliation:
Kildare Mental Health Service, Eastern Health Board, Kildare, Ireland
John Sheehan
Affiliation:
Kildare Mental Health Service, Eastern Health Board, Kildare, Ireland
*
Trinity Court, 30–31 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

All staff based in a newly built acute psychiatric unit for more than six months were asked about the difficulties they encountered in the implementation of their duties and what changes they recommended. The problem areas identified included poor design and location of nursing observation station, lack of proper seclusion facilities, insufficient ventilation, unsafe position of the roof garden, exposed beams and supports, proximity to the lake and inadequate interview facilities for all staff. The urgent recommendations included alteration in the design and positioning of observation station, improving ventilation, making the roof garden safe, and covering all exposed beams and supports. The desirable changes included extra interviewing facilities and a spacious observable television room. Consultation by mental health professionals during the initial stage of designing of psychiatric units is essential.

Type
Original papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994

References

References and further reading

Appleby, L. (1992) Suicide in psychiatric patients: risk and prevention. British Journal of Psychiatry 161, 749758.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barefoot, P. (1992) Psychiatric wards in DGHs. An architect's comments. Psychiatric Bulletin, 16, 99100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crammer, J.L. (1984) The special characteristics of suicide in hospital in patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 460476.Google Scholar
Department of Health (1992) Green Paper on Mental Health, 1119.Google Scholar
Gale, S.W., Mesnikoff, A., Fine, J. et al (1980) A study of suicide in state mental hospitals in New York City. Psychiatric Quarterly, 52, 201213.Google Scholar
Goh, S.E., Salmons, P.H. & Whittington, R.M. (1989) Hospital suicides: are there preventable factors? Profile of psychiatric hospital suicide. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 247249.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.