Woodland View, a £46m adult acute mental health and community facility located in Irvine, Scotland, has opened its doors to service users.
The 206-bed new-build hospital, designed by IBI Group and constructed by Balfour Beatty, is focused on delivering inpatient and outpatient mental health services for adults, including rehabilitation, continuing care, addictions, forensics, and intensive psychiatric care.
The hospital’s design also provides organic and functional services for elderly mental health, specifically dementia care, and incorporates research by the Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University. Supportive design features comprise corridor seating areas overlooking landscaped gardens; ‘wander loops’; dementia-friendly signage; and a considered colour, artwork and wayfinding strategy to help trigger service user memories.
Emma White, IBI project director, said: “The hospital’s design works in harmony with NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s model of care. The non-institutional design supports the service user journey to recovery; building confidence, offering choice and paving the way for their transition home and into the community.”
Planned around service user and staff wellbeing the building is safe, spacious and sustainable. Full of natural light, the design promotes excellent observation inside and out, offers gender flexible wards that maintain privacy and dignity, and encompasses landscaped gardens that promote exercise, rehabilitation and recovery.
John Scott, programme director for Woodland View, said: “Woodland View is a tremendous facility for the people of Ayrshire. Not only does it provide state-of-the-art surroundings for patients, staff and service-users, it also offers a place for the local community to enjoy. The facility will provide a safe and caring environment for generations to come.”
