It’s well known that the use of colour can have a significant affect on our mood. You might feel energy and excitement from a vibrant yellow kitchen, or be serene and calm in an ocean blue living room. However, these evoked feelings and emotions can be heightened when in unfamiliar environments and surroundings; and the importance of personalisation, especially for adolescents, can not be overlooked when designing a mental health environment.
According to a study following the renovation of University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital Child–Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit¹, they found that ‘design features in which patients have choice and control offer greater perceptions of calm during their stay.’
So, when NHS Tayside were considering the replacement of bedroom doors at the North of Scotland Young People’s Inpatient Unit (known as CAMHS YPU), personalisation was an important element that was captured during the design phase of their refurbishment project.
For Rosie Baillie, Service Manager at CAMHS YPU, it was important to involve the service users at an early stage of the redevelopment, to provide a sense of ownership over the project and the space which they were creating; “our young people benefited from feeling included in this process, their voices were heard and their opinions and choices mattered. They valued the chance to be involved and we had engagement from 10 individuals which is really good going (out of a possible 11).”
To complement their bespoke anti-barricade SWING Complete Door Systems, NHS Tayside opted for a bespoke Duralux Oblong Vision Panel at 1000mm tall (compared to a standard 800mm).
This additional height gave the young people at CAMHS YPU an opportunity to personalise their doors with images chosen by them, “The young people liked the images on shutterstock and enjoyed the process of looking through these to select their favourites” Rosie continues.
“To acknowledge how much we valued their input, we have requested digital copies of the images so that we can provide each young person with a copy of their chosen image to take away with them; and our Occupational Therapy team have designed a certificate to mark their involvement.”
Additional findings from the University of Minnesota renovation study¹ also shows that ‘the space has a positive influence on families, demonstrated by its welcoming character and features that help to facilitate better interaction with patients,’ showing that it’s not just patients who can benefit from a personalised environment.
It is for these reasons, and many more, why all of our Complete Door Systems can be customised in a range of finishes to complement all environments.
Good design doesn’t have to be a barrier to performance and through our ethos of design collaboration, and our specialist knowledge from over 2,000 completed projects, we are able to offer expert opinions and deliver customised door finishes to suit all spaces.
Further information:
You can read more about the use of colours in mental health environments, and how Helen Whinray, Director at The Design Buro utilised our extensive door finishes range when designing The Rainbow Unit for Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust here.