Place of Safety – Update on Mental Health Work

Place of Safety – Focus on Mental Health

This January we have been asked back to work with two Mental health Trusts with whom Fleet have longstanding relationship.

With the Cornwall Partnership Trust we are again considering their management of crisis and de-escalation.  This involves redesigning a suite of rooms including a lounge and the seclusion suite itself.  As with any seclusion suite management, or mental health unit in any respect, striking the balance between safety and therapy is a challenge.  Most rewarding for us as designers, the ward manager invited a service user to the working group, while this isn’t unique, it was genuine and engaging, which is not always the case when patient groups or representatives are consulted.

We have also been in Northampton at Berrywood Hospital, where we have worked previously.  We have been asked to consider the redesign of the approach to Section 136 admissions across their sites.  Often a source of differing view points from the services engaged, Section 136 of the Mental Health Act is the law by which the police can transfer a person to a ‘place of safety’ to receive assessment with 24 hours.  As with many other aspects of the mental health care system, this process is under strain and polices and operational approaches are evolving.  Use of triage, mental health assessment in parallel with the police response, can reduce pressure on Section 136 services and, most importantly, ensure the service user is on the most appropriate care pathway.

Dry January at Hatworks

Our Grade II listed refurbishment (in collaboration with our friends at You&Me) of the oldest standing hat factory in Luton – Hat Works – for Luton Culture (now the Culture Trust Luton)is upping the pace.  A huge Christo-esque scaffold now tents the historic fabric preventing water entering the building for the first time in approximately 15 years.  Having been riddled with toxic mold and many varieties of non-edible fungi it is taking its first steps to drying out.

Funded by Historic England, phase 1 works concentrate on emergency remedial works to the external envelope including a new roof, rainwater goods, masonry repairs and structural works.

More about the sister HatHouse project and the Hat District here.

That View! Fort Road Hotel Update

Fleet are currently designing the extensive refurbishment and extension of the Fort Road Hotel, Margate’s much loved ‘iconic building’ overlooking the Turner Contemporary.

The scaffold hat, currently in place while stabilising the building and 20 years of collapsed roof and detritus, afforded us a first glimpse of the staggering view the top floor sea facing rooms with enjoy.

Central Surgery GPs Move-in

Sawbridgworth Central Surgery Moving In

Fleet worked with Hawkins/Brown to design a large new extension for the Central Surgery in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire.  Official photography due in Spring 2020.

Royal Crescent Progress

The refurbishment and extension of the derelict former language school on St Augustine’s Road Ramsgate, which occupies 2 grade II listed town houses, is gathering pace as we near year end.

When finished the property will house 9 generous apartments including 3 which will be double fronted and sea facing.

Our design completes the Townley designed crescent from the St Augustine’s road view, with a final Regency pavilion and loggia added to mirror the existing villa to the extreme eastern end.  The villa provides 2 new 2-bedroom flats.

180 Strand Welcomes Tomorrow

Tomorrow Ltd have moved into the Fleet designed retrofit one wing of The Vinyl Factory at 180 the Strand.  Fleet have previously designed a floor for the Arts and Media organisation Frieze when thy moved to the Vinyl Factory early in 2019,learn more of that project here.  Whereas the Frieze design explored a post ‘burolandschaft’ environment, this design sought to maximise natural light with unashamedly open spaces supported by a range of meeting and smaller work spaces.  We used exposed blockwork partitions, strand board and tinted ply to achieve a simple mid-2oth-century appearance complementing the concrete structure of the host building.  Further play with the Palm Springs feel involved collaboration with The Conservatory Archives, who brought a verdant palette of cacti and ferns to the final design.  Here are some photos of the SNAGGING process while we wait for the official photos.

Tomorrow host many exciting names in fashion including Samuel Ross’ A Cold Wall.

Planning Permission Granted – Therapy Pool

Planning Permission Granted – Designing for a Client with Cerebral Palsy

Fleet have recently received planning permission to redesign and over double the internal area of a family home in North Kent including improvements to the circulation, rooms sizes, flows, and the inclusion of therapy spaces to support the care and development of a young boy, one of a pair of identical twins, born with a diagnosis of  quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

His condition will require ongoing medical and therapeutic intervention and the refurbished and extended house will be adapted to meet these needs. The condition means he has abnormal muscle tone and strength, as well as sensory impairments.  At present he is completely dependent on his family and equipment in order to move, develop and participate in play.

He will benefit greatly from therapy, which is carried out for 3-5 hours a day by his family in the relatively confined spaces of the family home. These encompass Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy as well as other Motor and Sensory Therapies.  He requires this very high level of input to maximise his developmental potential and this is vital both in the early years and on an ongoing basis.

Care and development models for cerebral palsy emphasise that early intervention can make a significant difference to development and quality of life.

Therapy must be delivered in an area with adequate room for equipment, a challenge in a conventional detached family home.  Care also requires a quiet, discrete area to promote concentration, with acoustics and natural lighting to compliment this.  Care of a child with cerebral palsy requires many pieces of medical equipment, which will be used daily. These include specialised seating, a standing frame, walker, chairs, therapy benches and sensory equipment.  At present he has the smallest size of each, but these will need to be replaced with much larger sizes as he grows and the storage is designed (maximised) to allow for this.  The ongoing care requires space for a plinth and mobile hoist for transfers as well as enough space on the floor for mat work.

The most significant addition to the home is a therapy pool.  Hydrotherapy allows freedom to move and play in the water.  Hydrotherapy pools are available to book through NHS services but access is limited and varies by location.  Having access to a pool at home will allow the cardiovascular exercise that is required to keep healthy. Children with cerebral palsy often lack the opportunity to keep cardiovascularly fit and this places them at much greater risk of chest infections including pneumonia. With the effects of gravity altered by utilising the properties of warm water, a child with Cerebral Palsy can stretch through their trunk and limbs, with the benefits reducing the risk for surgical musculoskeletal intervention at a later date.

Critically hydrotherapy is an activity that is enjoyed by the whole family and has benefits both physically and psychologically for everyone.  The time and degree of care demanded is significant and the freedom to relax and enjoy the shared time in the pool is universally beneficial. Community pools are often not warm enough for these vulnerable children to use for the time required to carry out the therapy programme. Due to his limited movement, he requires specialised changing facilities for his temperature control and comfort which are allowed for in our design.

Our client is currently at a weight where he can be carried by his parents, he will require a hoist for transfers in the future. It will not be possible for him to sleep upstairs without inserting a platform lift, both expensive and space consuming. Our plans include a bedroom, wet room and therapy room at ground floor interconnected and accessed by a ceiling hoist. To allow for the hoist, the ceiling height is considered and has governed some fundamental decisions and arrangements.

This extension and the facilities within, we hope, will give our client the opportunity to participate in activities, keep fit and healthy, and develop to his greatest potential and it is an extremely rewarding project to work on.

This article has been prepared using information supplied by  Emma Cave, a professional therapist currently engaged in the care of our Client.

Charlotte Mews Nearly Finished

The Fleet designed mews houses to the rear of grade II listed 19-21 Harbour Street Ramsgate, are nearing completion, find out more about the project here:

Charlotte Mews

Grade II* – Delapré Abbey

Fleet were invited by the Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust invited Fleet to submit designs for the redevelopment of the stable block forming part of the Grade II* listed estate which includes the registered battleground, the Battle of Northampton.

More to follow.

Revisiting the ‘Civic’ with Haringey

Fleet have been appointed by LB Haringey to develop a health centre refurbishing and reclaiming retail space in within the 1970s Wood Green developments.  The health centre, combined with allied public sector services within the same scheme, will add to the wealth of amenities already available in Wood Green. More to follow shortly, in the mean time enjoy a film about the post war development of Wood Green courtesy of Pathe: