Orchard View is a new-build care facility for mentally infirm and dementia patients within the Inverclyde area.
The new facility is to replace the Dunrod building at Ravenscraig Hospital.
This was an aging single-storey structure that had reached the end of its useful life.
Patients slept in multi-bed dorm rooms, which provided little privacy, and this frequently lead to disruption and stress.
In addition, the building had no dedicated group activity and therapy spaces and was not suitable for delivering modern inpatient mental health services.
As the unit was remote from other mental health services, there was also a heavy reliance on the Scottish Ambulance Service and emergency medical services.
The new facility had to meet the following criteria:
Patients would be provided with single-bed en-suite accommodation that balanced the need for privacy and dignity against the need for unobtrusive observation. The new development should also be co-located with other healthcare facilities to reduce reliance on the ambulance service while also reducing the stigma of attending a specific mental health site.
The building should feel welcoming and avoid an institutional feel and there should be a variety of social spaces of varying sizes that patients can access.
A variety of external spaces would also provided appropriate to the patient groups in terms of interest, physical ability and other requirements.
The facility had to be an attractive place to work, providing up-to-date facilities to attract and maintain the calibre of staff required.
Orchard View seeks to destigmatise mental health care by creating a welcoming atmosphere, designed around the patient.
This is achieved through keeping the built form single storey, using domestic materials, and creating different-sized spaces so that the patient can interact as much or as little as they feel comfortable.