Feb 02 - 'Ocean Views' Mental Health Facility Ready for Service Users
With the official opening occurring shortly, the new Mental Health Facility opened its doors to the press today for an insight into its state of the art functionality. The tour was led by Mental Health Services Unit General Manager Christopher Chipolina.
Named ‘Ocean Views’, following a public competition searching for a name that reflected the mantra ‘a new building, a new name and a new start’, the facility offers four wards, a visitors’ area, a recreational annex, a floor of rehabilitation flats for service users who no longer require treatment at the facility, and a garden.
The acute unit, dubbed ‘Horizon Ward’ is an multi functioning secure unit that offers temporary residential rooms for patients, as well as a recreation room, seclusion rooms and communal outside smoking area. The unit offers living space for higher risk service users who currently live amongst lesser risk patients in the KGV Facility. 
All light switches in the facility are tamper proof, all glass is reinforced and most doors are anti barricade, allowing staff to open them from both sides if a service user traps themselves inside, or falls in front of the door.
Recreation rooms found in all wards offer service users a comfortable environment and the use of a large flat screen television, a blu-ray player, a hi fi and ceiling mounted speakers.
Art pieces done by the service users are dotted around the warm, brightly coloured wards. ‘Colour therapists were consulted during the process,' Mr. Chipolina tells the press, nodding to the turquoise and soft purple walls.
Other units include ‘Dawn Ward', a rehabilitation centre, 'Sunshine Ward' for long-term service users and ‘Rock side Flats’ which will house former users who no longer require treatment in the facility, and are working through rehabilitation, in order to integrate into the community. Rock side Flats has a capacity of 14, with seven double bedrooms, and shared kitchen and recreational areas. The flats act as a stepping-stone for recovering patients, affording hem an address to be able to use to access employment and benefits.
Located in a separate annex of the Facility is the ARC Activity and Rehabilitation Centre offering an extremely pleasant and welcoming atmosphere, with classes and therapies to be made available to service users. The unit offers a series of rooms in which to host therapy groups that will also welcome non-users of the Facility. The building also offers a large communal kitchen for group cooking, an IT suite and recreational rooms including board games and entertainment units.
