HPU 131 Mental Health – Overarching Guideline (Version 1, 14 March 2018) is a new guideline that describes the generic planning and design requirements to be considered when planning mental health inpatient units. It has been developed to act as a Part 1 to each of the following six mental health guidelines:

·       HPU 132 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit;

·       HPU 133 Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre (PECC);

·       HPU 134 Adult Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit;

·       HPU 135 Older People’s Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit;

·       HPU 136 Non Acute Mental Health Unit which includes rehabilitation, extended care and forensics; and

·       HPU 137 Mental Health Intensive Care Unit.

These existing Mental Health HPUs are currently being reviewed and this work will be completed by the end of 2018. In the meantime, the information contained in 131 should take precendence.

The intent of HPU 131 is to reduce repetition so that the other HPUs can focus on service specific requirements (e.g. the special needs of adolescents). The focus of the document is acute inpatient units but it can be used to inform non-acute environments. This document is not intended to inform the planning and design of acute forensic units, residential supported accommodation and community based non-acute mental health facilities.

This guidelines does not include a schedule of accommodation (SoA), only broad planning conventions (e.g. calculation of outdoor space). Refer to HPU 132 – 137 for detailed schedules of accommodation.