At the Intersection of Treatment and Design; How the Built Environment Can Improve Patient Outcomes & Help Retain Staff (PID056)

9.45am – 10.15am EDT, 26 April 2024 ‐ 30 mins

Room: Meeting Room 9

Parallel Workshops

Correctional facilities were not designed to be medical and mental health treatment centres, but in many regards, that is one of the primary functions that they serve today. Because they are being used for a purpose for which they were not originally designed for, it is often difficult to provide the normalizing and therapeutic care that the clients require.
Buildings by their very nature send both subtle and overt messages to the people who occupy them. They can inspire, educate, comfort, and support. However, they can also degrade, frighten, confine, and traumatize. This session will focus on that intersection of treatment and design. Through the discussion of how using contemporary concepts of purposeful design, participants will gain an appreciation of how design can influence positive patient outcomes, as well as improving staff recruitment and retention. 
 
 
Moderator Tony McDonnell, Head of Infrastructure & Asset Management, Northern Ireland Prison Service, Northern Ireland