St Nicholas Hospital
A state-of-the-art in-patient facility has been unveiled in Hull, providing support for young people aged between 13 and 18 with severe and complex mental health issues.
The new £7.8 million, city centre facility named ‘Inspire’ is run by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust engaged with young people and their families as well as consulting with partners such as Teal LifeCare, who supplied specialist furniture throughout the new unit, helping to create a bright, therapeutic environment which aids the treatment of young people with psychosis, eating disorders and severe anxiety.
Furniture installed by Teal is appropriate for the environment, with robust, secure construction, anti-ligature features and additional weighting to help maximise safety and limit misuse, helping to support both the 60-strong specialist staff in the delivery of care and the mental health and emotional wellbeing needs of young people and their families.
The project began with a visit to the Teal showroom, where the St Nicholas team could explore furniture, fabrics and finishes together and start building the look and feel of the new environment. Rather than applying one specification everywhere, furniture was considered in the context of how each space would actually be used. Bedrooms needed to feel calm and personal, lounges needed the familiarity and comfort of residential furniture and dining spaces needed durability without looking unnecessarily institutional.
For the 20 patient bedrooms, the team selected Dawley furniture in a soft duck-egg finish, paired with the Panama console table and Perry patient chair in complementary upholstery. The palette deliberately moves away from the harder visual language traditionally associated with mental health interiors. Soft blue-green cabinetry, warm timber and carefully selected upholstery introduce colour without overwhelming the space, while recognisable furniture forms help create a more domestic character.
Galloway armchairs and two-seater sofas were specified across communal areas in a variety of fabrics, allowing individual rooms to develop their own personality while retaining a recognisable design language throughout the scheme. F11 coffee tables in coordinating finishes bring the spaces together. The Galloway range combines solid birch construction and ergonomic support with well-positioned arms designed to assist sit-to-stand movement, while strengthened specifications are available for mental health environments.
The Kurva armchair was paired with Teal’s S-Frame Security dining table, with fabrics and finishes selected to complement the wider interior scheme. The combination provided the robustness required for the environment while maintaining the familiar appearance of everyday dining furniture.
