New Swedish forensic psychiatric facilities: visions and outcomes

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to map significant features of the physical design of nine recently planned facilities for forensic psychiatric care in Sweden. The present paper is focused on differences in the physical design, static security adaptations, visions and goals for the projects, economy and steering processes. Design/methodology/approach -In June 2008, records concerning major forensic psychiatric construction projects, planned or carried out between 1970 and 2008, were requested from all 21 regions in Sweden. The documents were collected, organized, critically examined, and analyzed in their contexts. Extensive data have also been retrieved from the internet. Findings -In spite of the common national legislation governing forensic psychiatric care, the projects show great diversity in the physical design and, after 2006, increasing emphasis on static security. The collected material indicates different visions and goals and little coordination between them. It also suggests that the decisions rarely have been preceded by scientific studies or, as it appears, systematic needs assessments. There were also considerable variations in the interpretation of the legislation stipulating public access to official documentation and the time-frame allowed for such requests. Research limitations/implications -Limitations of the project especially relate to the incompleteness of the documents received. Originality/value -This mainly descriptive paper provides an overview of contemporary Swedish forensic psychiatric construction projects, planned for or realized after 2000. This paper points out structural and physical differences between these projects. The systematised documents are made available for research purposes within different disciplines.

Modern forensic psychiatric hospital design: clinical, legal and structural aspects

“…The process of deinstitutionalization of psychiatric care in many Western nations is coming to be understood, rather, as a more complex process of trans- or reinstitutionalization from traditional psychiatric hospitals to supported housing, prisons and, not least, forensic psychiatric units [ 19 , 22 , 27 ]. As a result, authorities in many countries have come under increased pressure to both expand and update their forensic psychiatric services [ 17 , 90 – 93 ], so as to respond more effectively to the needs of mentally ill offenders and other psychiatric patients with similar needs. Simultaneously, an increased focus on patient and carer rights and involvement has emerged throughout the development and implementation of healthcare services [ 94 , 95 ], as have international monitoring standards to uphold human rights within psychiatric institutions [ 68 ].…”

Is it possible to feel at home in a patient room in an intensive care unit? Reflections on environmental aspects in technology‐dense environments

“…Critical illness implies confinement to the sickbed with little or no possibility of controlling or territorially possessing the sickroom and the space beyond the bed (Johansson et al, ). The bed becomes both a temporary home and a prison, comparable to the patient room in psychiatric care (Andersson et al, ): a home because the bed is the only space allocated to the patient and a prison because it is a place that is impossible for the patient to leave voluntarily. This presents a dilemma.…”

“…The ICU nurses that worked in the refurbished patient room reported being more alert and stated that the room promoted well‐being to patients (Sundberg, Olausson, Fridh, & Lindahl, ). Overall, spatial control and individualization are perceived differentially, depending on the patient's degree of illness and cultural, experiential and ideological perspectives (Andersson, Svennerlind, Malmqvist, & Anckarsäter, ). In the text that follows, we briefly explore and reflect the following topics: the concepts of home, privacy, control and the ICU patient room as bed space and workplace.…”