Patients with mental health disorders arrive in the Emergency Department (ED) in their most vulnerable state, but have poorer perceived experience of the ED than other patient groups. Attendance rates are growing by 10% per year – far more quickly than population growth – yet mental health patients often don’t receive timely and consistent treatment in ED.
“Crisis | Wellbeing” combines technology, architecture and nature to find a balance between cognitive stimulation and calmness, a place for emergency and a place of safety. There were three research streams: examination of past models, implementation of the design as a model for the present and the future of mental health patient pathways in the ED.