Client: Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust

This was a refurb of a 20-year-old facility to a state-of-the-art 12-bed adult mental health inpatient unit on the first floor of Daisy Hill House at Lynfield Mount Hospital.

The unit was to house a groundbreaking facility, the first of its kind in the UK. The clients’ aspiration for it was to feel as modern, warm and calming as a home; to assist the highly specialist team of health professional deliver cutting-edge therapies including Schema Therapy, said to be effective in the treatment of personality disorders, borderline personality disorder, and a range of complex mental health issues.

The unit was a success with the Trust, clinical and service user teams whose input was sought during the design process. A user participating in creating the wall mural placed at the heart of the unit said: “I know what helps me to feel better, and it’s great that I’ve been able to have input, not just in creating this mural but in more general terms with the centre’s look and feel. I think we’ve helped create a more calming, less clinical space.”

Dr Joan Farrell, one of the founders of Schema Therapy in the US, Adjunct Professor in Psychology at Indiana School of Medicine, guest speaker at the launch of the unit said: “This is a state of the art facility…the physical space is so impressive too, you really have done what we wanted to do…it really is a family environment…”

Imagery: Courtesy of DLA FreemanWhite