Breathing Life into Bedlam – How Improved Ventilation can be Achieved Within Mental Health Facilities

Synopsis

The mental health estate forms a substantial part of the estates portfolio which fails to meet current guidance around ventilation. It also has specific requirements. Many facilities are in older buildings that are difficult to manage. The purpose of the talk is to make the invisible (air) visible with a view to aiding designers and staff improve ventilation in a patient centric manner.
Whilst ventilation isn’t as visual as art or lighting, its impact can have significant consequences within mental health. High carbon dioxide levels can affect cognitive function and potentially aggression. Even in areas that appear to comply with current practice pathogens can produce high viral loads and airborne disease can transmit or transfer rapidly. The talk will use examples from within existing ward installations, ECT suites and also reference long term data to show that effective use of the new guidance can enable change with a rapid return on investment.
In addition, the talk will also cover the use of approaches defined within HTM03.01 (ventilation standard) for mechanically ventilated areas which can offer easy enhancement to existing areas.