Rotherham Urgent and Emergency Care Centre first of its kind to gain Secured by Design Gold Award for security

The SBD Gold Award was presented to John Cartwright, Director of Estates and Facilities and Security Manager Barry Regan, by local Designing Out Crime Officer John Shillito and Chief Inspector Paul Ferguson, the South Yorkshire Police Force Lead for Crime Prevention, at the Urgent and Emergency Care Centre - the first of its kind to achieve SBD accreditation in South Yorkshire.

Construction of the £12.2 million Urgent and Emergency Care Centre began in March 2015 and culminated with its recent opening by the Duke of Kent. The Centre is open for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and has brought A&E facilities together with those of the former walk-in centre in Greasborough Road.

An SBD trained Designing Out Crime Officer worked with the architects, Gilling Dod, and The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust from the planning stages through to construction to incorporate SBD crime prevention techniques and security into the development. Site visits were conducted throughout the construction and close liaison was maintained with on-site staff.

These measures included a safe and security-focused layout for the building and its immediate environment that enable natural surveillance; fixed furniture; state of the art digital CCTV and appropriate access control systems. The measures, which also include doors, windows and locks which meet the enhanced Police Preferred Specification Standards, combine to make the properties more robust and less attractive to opportunist criminals.

Independent academic research shows that SBD developments that have been designed to ‘design out crime’ and include crime prevention techniques in the built environment and accredited products can reduce crimes like burglary by up to 75% in new build homes and up to 63% in refurbishments. Evidence suggests these figures are sustainable year-on-year and represent a significant reduction especially as most SBD developments are in social housing in deprived areas.

There are three levels of SBD award: Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Gold Award is the highest level and it is awarded where the physical security specification of the home is enhanced by the security provided in the external environment.

John Shillito, Designing Out Crime Officer for South Yorkshire Police, said: “This has been a long but very worthwhile project to build a robust and modern Emergency Care facility.

“This is a state of the art facility which is one of a kind in South Yorkshire, and it’s been really encouraging to see a local hospital that was so committed to achieving Secured by Design accreditation and prioritising safety and security for their patients, visitors and staff.

“This will bring long-term benefits to all of those involved with the services provided by the Urgent and Emergency Care Centre”.

John Cartwright, Director of Estates and Facilities at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The safety and security of our staff, patients and visitors has been paramount from the initial conception of this project to its conclusion. As a result, we are confident that not only have we created a state of the art medical facility for the people of Rotherham, but have also delivered a facility that will protect all who attend”.

Sean Kember, Director, Gilling Dod Architects, said: “Gilling Dod were delighted to be involved with the design and delivery of the Integrated Urgent Care Centre (IUCC) at Rotherham Hospital.

“In order to achieve the best possible design solution for the IUCC we endeavoured to understand the operational relationships within the context of the existing hospital services and worked closely with the clinical teams to ensure that the design solution was clinically effective, safe and provided a much improved working environment for them.

“We were able to utilise our experience of delivering new build and newly refurbished IUCC’s, both sited adjacent to existing Emergency Departments and standalone Urgent Care Centres to ensure that the arrangement of urgent care services contributes to the overall operational efficiency of the hospital.

“Our design was based on a thorough understanding of the journey the patient makes through the department, which varies depending on the means of arrival, the clinical condition, and whether the patient is an adult or a child. The design minimises stress in children whilst ensuring that they do not become an isolated stream.”

Secured by Design: Secured by Design, the national police crime prevention initiative, aim to achieve sustainable reductions in crime through design and other approaches to enable people to live in a safer society.

We work in partnership with National and Local Government, British and European standards authorities, trade associations, the construction industry, manufacturers and many other organisations to reduce crime and the fear of crime by incorporating proven crime prevention techniques into the built environment.

We have more than 200 SBD trained police officers and staff in Police Forces around the UK. These Designing Out Crime Officers work with architects, developers and local authority planners to build in tried, tested and proven crime prevention techniques at the planning stage to reduce crime and keep communities safe.

SBD seeks to reduce crime by combining minimum standards of physical security like doors, windows and locks that achieve SBD’s Police Preferred Specification standard and proven design principles of the built environment such as natural surveillance and defensible space.

Whilst police are unable to recommend specific products, SBD can act as an effective gatekeeper and signposting service to our 650+ member companies and their products, which meet our rigorous Police Preferred Specification standards.

Members’ products range from secure and robust doors, windows and locks through to cutting-edge IT products, CCTV components, and shutters and barriers. SBD is the only way for companies to obtain police accreditation for security products in the UK.

SBD developments include such iconic sites as the 2012 London Olympics, Wembley Stadium and the Welsh and Scottish Assembly buildings.

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