Atherleigh Park: Enabling Safe and Empowering Environments for Mental Health and Dementia Care

Atherleigh Park, a new Mental Health facility under North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, opened its doors with a commitment to support both mental health and dementia inpatient services.

AFL Architects, responsible for the facility’s design, sought a consistent and secure access solution across multiple wards. Safehinge Primera’s electronic locksets, Oryx lever handles, and Turn/Pull handles offered a comprehensive solution that emphasised user autonomy, staff safety, and design consistency.
Together, these features provided Atherleigh Park with a secure, modern facility tailored to the diverse needs of its residents and staff.

Care provider: North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation
Project type: New Build
Mental Health discipline: Male and Female Mental Health and Dementia Inpatient Services

Partner: AFL Architects

Products supplied:

The Challenge

Atherleigh Park’s design goals required a delicate balance between providing security and encouraging a sense of autonomy and normalcy for residents.

Enhanced Security Across Multiple Wards: Atherleigh Park’s layout includes psychiatric intensive care and dementia units, each requiring different levels of access control and emergency override capabilities. Ensuring consistent safety measures without compromising on comfort was crucial.

Empowering Service Users with Autonomy: The Trust wanted a system that would empower residents, allowing them to access their rooms independently while maintaining safety protocols. This meant finding a solution that could provide service users with a personal access device, supporting their autonomy while minimising staff intervention.

Creating a Non-Institutional, Homely Environment: The design team sought to replicate a home-like feel, particularly in the dementia units, to reduce anxiety and confusion among patients. Handle design and consistent locksets across the wards played a critical role in achieving this atmosphere.

The Solution

Safehinge Primera provided North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust with an integrated solution that included the electronic locksets, Turn/Pull handles, and Oryx lever handles.
These products ensured that Atherleigh Park’s wards could maintain the highest safety standards while giving service users the autonomy to feel more at home.

5-Way SOS (Staff Override System): Our Passport lockset provides staff with a two-second emergency access feature, essential in high-risk scenarios. As the only electronic lockset with this built-in 5-way override system, Passport is a critical tool for ensuring quick and safe access for staff.

Personalised Access via Harmless Key Fobs: By issuing service users with Key Fobs, Passport locksets grant residents the independence to access their rooms while maintaining the security standards of a clinical setting. This sense of ownership over their space fosters a positive, recovery-oriented environment.

Integration with Electronic Access Control: Passport seamlessly integrates with widely used electronic access control systems, allowing staff to monitor access in real time. Remote programming provides effortless updates and management.

Oryx Lever Handles and Turn/Pull Handles
For ease of use and accessibility, particularly for dementia care, we installed Oryx and Turn/Pull handles that met Atherleigh Park’s needs.

The Impact

Safehinge Primera’s products contributed significantly to creating a secure, empowering, and comfortable environment at Atherleigh Park.

Key results included:

Improved Emergency Access: With the 5-way SOS system in Passport smart locksets, staff now have two-second emergency access in all patient rooms, significantly improving response time during emergencies and enhancing overall safety for staff and service users alike.

Increased Autonomy for Service Users: By granting residents control over their space with key fobs, the Trust observed a noticeable improvement in resident autonomy and dignity. This empowerment aligns with the Trust’s mission to foster a supportive environment that aids in recovery and rehabilitation.

Consistency and Comfort: With ergonomic, homelike handles in place, Atherleigh Park achieved a non-institutional aesthetic that helps reduce anxiety for dementia patients. The consistent use of Passport smart locksets across the wards provided a unified, seamless experience supporting patient comfort and staff efficiency.

Let’s Build Safer Spaces Together

For Mental Health facilities seeking innovative solutions prioritising safety, comfort, and user empowerment, explore Safehinge Primera’s range of access solutions here and see how we can support your project needs.