LDA facility for those with complex sensory needs

The South West of England has a shortfall in mental health inpatient accommodation; currently around 50-60% of patients must be placed outside of the region for their care and treatment due to the lack of specialist local facilities. Mainstream services are unsuitable for some individuals with a learning disability and/or autism, who may require a highly specialised environment addressing their complex needs. This project aimed to address the accommodation shortfall, and reduce long-distance placements, through the creation of a new 10-bed specialist unit in Dawlish, Devon.

Designing for neurodiversity was at the forefront of this project, with the added complexity of the service-user cohort being a mixed group comprising individuals who may have greatly differing environmental requirements. Although there are some overlaps, learning disabilities and autism are fundamentally different. A learning disability affects the way a person learns things throughout their life, while autism can influence how people experience and interact with the world. It was therefore critical that the design of The Brook be flexible enough to cater for each group without detriment to the other. It also needed to acknowledge that there is no 'one size fits all' approach, and that individual autistic experience and sensory perception can vary enormously.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust's approach to supporting people with learning disability and/or autism needs is focused on proactively encouraging independence, recovery, and swift discharge back to the wider community. Stays are typically no longer than six months, and there is a strong emphasis on community access, with staff supporting the individual to engage in positive risk-taking within the community to aid reintegration on discharge.