The impact that good building design and a “positive healthcare environment” can have on those suffering from mental illness, and the challenges facing architects, planners, and estates and facilities teams with the increasing dispersal of mental healthcare from large institutional sites to multiple community locations, will be addressed at an IHEEM-supported BBH conference at the Holborn Bars in London on 30 June.
IHEEM members are eligible for a 10% discount on the price of the event, “Enhancing Mental Health Environments 2010”. Chaired by Joe Forster, chairman of the Designers in Mental Health Network, the conference will feature speakers including Dan Burningham, director, Mental Health Strategies, examining the opportunities for greater integration between mental health and primary and social care, and the creation of shared community facilities; Dr Nick Rhodes, head of patient environment at the Central and North West London NHS Trust, considering how service providers can determine the optimum choice of artwork in mental health facilities and “what, if anything, should not be depicted”, and Martha McSweeney, a director at architects Nightingale Associates, exploring topics including how “intuitive design” creates “welcoming inclusive environments”, and looking at the benefits of evidencebased design in developing new facilities. For more information, and to book (quoting MH01), telephone: 0207 549 2533, or e-mail: events@ark-group.com
