St Aubyn’s Centre in Colchester, UK, has a school attached, with its own science lab and basketball courts. Its wards have their own ping-pong and pool tables. The patients’ rooms have private gardens, according to an article on The Independent website.
The only NHS facility of its kind in the south of England, it is a mental health unit providing care for teenagers experiencing severe emotional and psychological problems.
Care Minister Norman Lamb has chosen the facility to launch a shake-up of children’s mental health services, the article said.
Built in 2012, the center is a world away from its predecessor, which staff said had the feel of being closed in, like an old-style asylum.
Many facilities around the UK are still like that, but patients at St Aubyn’s have access to the on-site school and staff arrange outings to the seaside in the summer holidays.