NUA Healthcare: Seven-Phase Build that Set New Care Standards in Ireland
“At Nua we like to challenge the norm. We wanted something modern, invisible, and safe, and your [Safehinge Primera’s] technology just blew us away.”
Tommy O’Sullivan, Facilities Manager, Nua Healthcare
How Ireland’s largest private mental health provider created a 50-bed therapeutic campus with innovative Safehinge Primera doorsets, achieving uncompromised safety in a homely setting.
Care provider: NUA Healthcare Services
Project type: New Build
Mental Health discipline: Residential Intellectual Disability and Psychiatric Care
Products supplied:
Inside the Seven-Phase Build that Set New Care Standards in Ireland
Nua Healthcare, Ireland’s largest private mental health provider, undertook a multi-year project to develop a 50-bed therapeutic campus in Gormonston co Meath. The objective was to balance stringent anti-ligature safety requirements with a homely, non-institutional aesthetic, while ensuring operational efficiency and scalability.
Partnering with Safehinge Primera, Nua implemented 127 Complete Doorset Safety Systems, integrating full door alarm, ligature resistance, anti-barricade features, electronic locks, fire safety and discreet design. The phased rollout over seven blocks in 2024 was completed on time, with measurable improvements in safety, staff confidence, and resident engagement.
The Challenge:
Designing Gormonston presented several interlinked challenges and goals:
- Safety for High-Risk Residents: The primary concern was preventing self-harm incidents, particularly ligature attempts, in private spaces like bedrooms. Past solutions (e.g. door-top alarms) were limited, so Nua needed a more comprehensive anti-ligature alarm system covering the entire door while still allowing easy emergency access. At the same time, fire safety was non-negotiable – every door had to meet strict fire ratings (FD60/FD30) without compromising ligature resistance. Ensuring all safety systems (alarms, electronic locks, nurse call, fire alarms) could integrate and “talk to each other” securely was technically demanding, especially for a closed healthcare network.
- Homely Aesthetic vs. Institutional Hardware: Nua was determined that the facility should not feel like a secure hospital, despite the high level of security. This meant typical institutional fixtures (bulky sensors, exposed metal, industrial looks) needed to be avoided. The challenge was to embed robust safety features discreetly, maintaining a warm, homelike atmosphere so that residents feel comfortable and dignified rather than watched or restricted.
- Evolving Project Scope: What started as a small renovation evolved into a large-scale development. The design went through multiple iterations over three years as clinical needs and stakeholder input grew. The final plan included not just one building but several blocks and specialised units, totaling 127 doors requiring ligature-safe installations. This expansion required flexibility from all partners and extended the project timeline, including navigating multiple rounds of planning permission and complex civil works (such as upgraded wastewater and IT infrastructure across the site).
- Coordination and Phased Delivery: Executing a project of this scale demanded careful coordination. Building works and product installations had to be phased smartly to keep the project on schedule. Shipping custom doorsets from the UK to Ireland, storing them securely, and installing them in sync with construction was a logistical challenge, which Nua and Safehinge Primera mastered together. Nua also wanted assurance of on-site support throughout the process to address any issues immediately, as well as a chance to trial the solution early to gain confidence in its performance before full rollout.
These challenges underscored why Nua Healthcare Services sought an innovative, reliable partner. The solution needed to marry life-saving technology with thoughtful design and provide impeccable service from start to finish. Safehinge Primera stepped in to meet this brief, working hand-in-hand with Nua to overcome each challenge.
The Solution
After evaluating multiple suppliers, Nua Healthcare Services selected Safehinge Primera’s Complete Doorset Safety System as the core solution for Gormonston. This system was chosen for its unique blend of advanced full door anti-ligature alarm technology, full doorset integration, and patient-centric design. Every one of the 127 bedroom doors on site was supplied as a custom Safehinge Primera doorset, incorporating the following features:
- Full-Door Ligature Alarm: Unlike traditional door-top sensors, the Safehinge Primera system monitors the entire door leaf for ligature attempts. A weight-sensing mechanism triggers an alarm if excessive load is applied anywhere along the door, not just the top. The alarm system “learns” normal door usage patterns to intelligently distinguish between everyday use and actual incidents, dramatically reducing false alarms and disturbances.
- Integrated Anti-Barricade and Emergency Override: Each doorset is built with a robust anti-barricade function, allowing staff to open a door outwards or disengage the hinges in just 2 seconds if a resident attempts to barricade themselves inside. A mechanical override mechanism means staff can gain instant entry during emergencies without delay, which is critical for rapid response and de-escalation.
- Electronic High-Security Locksets: The doors include sophisticated electronic locksets, integrated with Nua’s access control system. This allows customised access rules (e.g., restricting certain rooms or unlocking doors remotely during an alarm) and ensures that every door’s status is monitored in real-time. The electronic locks allow service users to lock and unlock their own bedroom doors, providing a sense of independence, yet are tamper-resistant and easy for staff to operate, supporting both security and resident privacy. Importantly, Safehinge Primera’s status as an ISO 27001-certified supplier gave Nua added confidence that the digital aspects of the doors (alarm data and network connectivity) met the highest standards for information security and privacy.
- Custom Homely Design: While packed with technology, the doorsets were tailored to maintain the facility’s homelike feel. Each door and frame was finished to match the interior décor with no visible institutional hardware – for example, ligature sensors and door closers are concealed, and there are no exposed metal edges or unsightly screws. This attention to design detail means residents encounter normal-looking bedroom doors that belie the sophisticated safety functions within. As a result, safety is provided invisibly, preserving dignity and comfort.
Every doorset delivered was also rigorously fire-tested and certified (a mix of FD60 and FD30 ratings depending on location), satisfying the fire marshals’ requirements without any compromise on anti-ligature performance. This all-in-one solution – alarm, door, frame, lock, and hardware – ensured Nua didn’t have to mix and match components. It provided a single, cohesive “safety envelope” for each resident room, greatly simplifying maintenance and giving peace of mind that every door met all safety criteria from day one.
Delivery and Service
Implementing the Complete Doorset Safety System at Gormonston was a massive undertaking, executed with meticulous planning and a strong partnership ethos between Nua and Safehinge Primera. The process emphasied trialing, phased delivery, and on-site support:
- Blueprint Room & Stakeholder Buy-In: A fully furnished trial bedroom, complete with a Safehinge Primera doorset, furniture, and finishes, gave Nua’s teams and stakeholders a hands-on preview. Over two months, feedback led to refinements, including a custom smoke seal after fire officer input. This early investment built trust, removed surprises, and ensured the final product met both safety standards and Nua’s high expectations.
- Phased Rollout Across Seven Blocks: The 127 doorsets were installed in 7 phases to align with construction and minimise disruption. After a successful prototype in September 2023, full deployment ran from March to November 2024 across seven sequential blocks. Short breaks between phases allowed system checks, staff training, and early occupation of completed areas — a flexible approach that improved later phases and supported smooth product acclimatisation for staff.
- Seamless Logistics and Installation: Delivering large, pre-assembled doorsets to rural Ireland required precise coordination. Manufactured in the UK, each was finished at a Derby facility, then shipped palletised for in-time delivery, with secure local storage until needed. This approach avoided clutter and damage. On site, Safehinge Primera’s installers worked seamlessly with contractors to fit, test, and commission each unit, completing every phase on schedule.
- On-Site Support & Collaboration: Throughout the rollout, Safehinge Primera provided dedicated on-site support via our experienced installation team. They held regular check-ins with Nua’s project managers and facilities staff to share progress updates and address any concerns immediately. The team also drew on lessons learned from previous large projects to preempt problems. For example, adjusting the alarm trigger thresholds based on past data, which successfully minimised false alarms from heavy doors moving or slamming. This proactive, partnership-based service ensured the installation was smooth and the system worked optimally from the start.
As Chris Pearson, Safehinge Primera’s Project Manager on the job, noted, “the project ran smoothly due to the open communication and trust on both sides, it was a true collaboration.”
By the end of 2024, Nua Healthcare Services had a fully operational Complete Doorset Safety System installed without any major hiccups. The phased delivery and hands-on service approach meant that staff were already familiar with the system by the time the facility opened, and Nua’s team felt fully supported at every step. This collaborative delivery is a model for how complex healthcare safety projects can be executed reliably, even under tight timelines and high scrutiny.
The Impact
“From start to finish, the collaboration has been outstanding. The doors feel like part of a home, but behind that, they’re the safest in the world. That’s exactly what we set out to achieve.”
— Tommy O’Sullivan, Facilities Manager, Nua Healthcare
Six months on from opening, Nua Gormonston is realising the positive transformation it envisioned. The new facility has bolstered safety and improved the daily lives of both service users and staff in tangible ways:
- Lives Protected: Since opening, there have been zero ligature-related incidents involving doors. Full-door sensors and anti-barricade features have prevented potential self-harm by triggering early alerts, with staff typically responding in under 60 seconds. The alarms are trusted, accurate, and virtually free of false triggers.
- Operational Ease. Empowered Staff: Staff feedback highlights the ease of use and reliability of the doorsets, with minimal false alarms and straightforward maintenance. They reported greater peace of mind and job satisfaction, with features like quick-release override and intuitive controls streamlining their work. “Our nurses and support staff now feel a new level of confidence – they trust the doors to do their job, so they can do theirs,” one ward manager shared.
- Improved Resident Autonomy: Service users report feeling more secure and respected with control over their own room locks, fostering trust between residents and staff. The secure but non-clinical environment has encouraged residents to engage more in daily life. “Some of our patients wouldn’t even leave their rooms before. Now they’re out walking in the garden,” said a staff member. Families note the facility feels welcoming, not institutional, helping residents build trust and independence.
- Capacity and Future-Proofing: Fully equipped for 50 residents, occupancy is increasing gradually to maintain quality of care. The scalable, future-ready infrastructure ensures Garadinstown can adapt to new needs, cementing its role as a flagship for modern mental health facility design.
In summary, the project’s impact is evident in both quantitative metrics (incidents avoided, response times improved, capacity created) and qualitative feedback (sense of security, resident engagement, staff morale).
The Nua Healthcare Garadinstown facility stands as a shining example of what’s possible when compassionate care, innovative safety solutions, and thoughtful design come together. The project overcame complex challenges by staying true to a core mission: Protecting lives.
As Gormonston opens its doors to more residents, it serves as inspiration for other providers seeking to modernise safety without losing humanity. If your organisation is planning upgrades or new builds and you’re looking for proven safety solutions that put service users first, we’re here to help. Get in touch with Safehinge Primera’s team to learn more about the Complete Doorset Safety System and how it can be tailored to your needs.
