Empowering service-users can aid recovery

Teva Hesse, Design director at 4D Studio Architects, explores whether ‘designing out risk’ in inpatient mental healthcare facilities has resulted in service-users having little to do apart from eating, sleeping, and watching TV. He argues that this places excessive, and possibly unnecessary, burdens on staff, as most activities must be managed, led, and supervised, and suggests giving service-users greater individual empowerment to engage in meaningful pursuits

At a time when mental health staff resources are overstretched, this article explores the possibility that allowing service-users to engage in meaningful activities independently, or with some degree of supervision, might allow some nursing shifts to function with fewer staff. The new inpatient mental healthcare facilities at the Springfield University Hospital in South London are test cases to see whether designing for therapeutic benefit generates better outcomes. The initial data shows a significant reduction in incidents. Perhaps the path to safer environments doesn’t only mean designing out risks. Maybe environments where service-users feel comfortable in their surroundings, and are empowered to engage in meaningful activities of their own choice, can lead towards a safer model of mental healthcare.

Designing out risk