Track: Design and Digital Solutions Theatre

The session would look at secure mental health ambulance transport as an extension of the care environment, rather than a purely logistical function. For people in acute distress, the journey between settings can be one of the highest-risk points in their pathway. Waiting areas, exits, handover points, ambulance loading, vehicle design, route planning and arrival… Read more »

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is delivering an ambitious Green Plan to achieve Net Zero while enhancing patient environments. This presentation will showcase a range of decarbonisation projects, including solar PV and battery storage, heat pumps, EV charging infrastructure, and estate-wide LED upgrades. It will also explore initiatives to reduce waste and eliminate single-use plastics…. Read more »

Prisons are living environments which accommodate people with high levels of vulnerability, trauma and mental ill-health – yet they lack the design standards found in healthcare settings. This session shares learning from Fatal Accident Inquiries into deaths in custody and how they will shape a wellbeing‑led approach to safer prison environments. We will explore the… Read more »

Immersive technologies are transforming mental health care by creating safe, controlled environments for assessment and treatment. Examples include: exposure therapy for anxiety, phobias, and PTSD, allowing patients to confront triggers gradually and safely; mindfulness and stress reduction; and psychoeducation through interactive, engaging experiences. Clinicians can personalize interventions using real-time data and track progress more accurately…. Read more »

This session examines how AI can support estates teams to capture, access and share guidance, evidence and local learning more effectively. It highlights the limits of general AI, the value of domain-specific tools, and practical ways to build safe, human-in-the-loop workflows for compliance and operational decisions. It also addresses the impact of “brain drain” in… Read more »

Rethink Mental Illness is undertaking a programme of work to understand the systemic challenges in the supply and management of quality supported housing for people with long-term mental illness, and to work across three local mental health supported housing systems to address these challenges, pilot solutions and improve long-term outcomes for people with mental illness… Read more »

Dean and Lucy will discuss how patient safety incidents can be linked to building/environment design: sensory triggers (noise, smells), poor ventilation, lack of fresh air and inaccessible facilities can all escalate distress and risk. The conference attendees will be asked whether they recognise these links to building design, and invited to share ideas: where do… Read more »

Children and adolescents requiring psychiatric intensive care represent one of the most complex and least understood groups within mental health services. Despite increasing clinical demand and acuity, there remains no comprehensive national picture of how these services are structured, designed, or experienced. This presentation briefly introduces the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (NAPICU)… Read more »

This session explores how sensory-informed principles influenced product and finish selection throughout The Brook at Langdon Hospital. Using real project examples, the presentation will demonstrate how thoughtful consideration of light, colour, materials, acoustics and detailing helped create a calmer, more therapeutic environment whilst balancing safety, durability and clinical requirements. The session will reflect on the… Read more »

Discussing the successful delivery of a new perinatal mother and baby inpatient unit, highlighting how co‑production, experts by experience and person‑centred design were central to achieving a safe, appropriate and effective therapeutic environment. How design of Perinatal spaces necessitates a balanced approach to risk and the importance of placemaking. Key focus on the benefits of… Read more »