Oxford & Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

A Case Study: Enhancing the Healing Environment

One in four of us will have problems with our mental health and wellbeing at some time in our lives, with about two in every thousand needing specialist care for serious conditions like severe anxiety or depression. The NHS provides specialist mental health services throughout the UK for those who need it, in the form of day care, in-patient services and services in the community. Today, there is a more innovative approach to mental health rehabilitation, with a range of therapeutic activities on offer.

Patients using the rehabilitation services at Mandalay House in Aylesbury now have an exciting new outdoor space to use, thanks to a £35,000 project to improve their environment.

Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (www.obmh.nhs.uk) was awarded the money by the King’s Fund (www.kingsfund.org.uk) as part of their ‘Enhancing the Healing Environment’ programme. The team at Mandalay House identified that a covered, see-through structure in the garden would provide much needed additional social, recreational and therapeutic space, with the added bonus that it could be used all year round.

The design for the outdoor structure, provided by leading dome manufacturer, Solardome (www.solardome.co.uk), was produced in consultation with patients and includes a moving water feature to create a relaxing environment, options for lighting, the provision of seating areas and low upkeep planting which patients can help to maintain.
At the end of August 2007, Sarah Waller, programme Director for the King’s Fund and Hedley Finn, a design consultant for the programme met with the project team at Mandalay House and presented a plaque to David Stalker, who led the project for the NHS Trust.
Sarah Waller said: “The lack of social space was obvious here, especially after talking to service users. I am delighted to see the end result as a definite achievement in creating a relaxing and therapeutic environment for people who use services.”

For further information please contact:

• Sarah Waller, King’s Fund, T: +44 (0) 20 7307 2400
• David Stalker, Oxford & Buckinghamshire NHS, t. 01296 565503
• Samantha Bradley, Solardome, T: +44 (0) 845 450 2155

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