Accessibility & Universal Design helping to create better patient outcomes.
Written by: Daniel Craddock, Senior Access Consultant
Architecture & Access recently provided accessibility consulting services for the completed Rockhampton Hospital Adult Mental Health Unit. Officially delivered in 2026, the $92 million development has expanded mental health services for Central Queensland. The facility includes:
- A total of 32 inpatient beds.
- 25 general acute mental health beds and 7 high-dependency beds.
- High- and low-dependency treatment areas.
- Dedicated therapy and treatment spaces.
- Administrative and clinical support areas.
- Indoor garden areas and therapeutic outdoor spaces designed to support recovery and wellbeing.
- Enhanced safety features and contemporary mental health design principles.
- New staff and visitor parking and upgrades to building services, including air-conditioning systems.
Designed by BVN Architects, the project successfully integrates accessibility, functionality and patient-centred design principles to create an inclusive and supportive healthcare environment. Broad Construction delivered the design vision to a high standard, ensuring the facility meets the needs of patients, visitors and staff alike.
This project highlights the important role that accessibility and universal design play in healthcare environments. While the project delivers additional beds and modern facilities, good design is about more than meeting minimum compliance requirements. It aims to create spaces that work well for everyone, including people with physical disabilities, sensory issues, cognitive impairments, and those experiencing mental ill health.
Features such as clear wayfinding, simple layouts, good lighting, reduced noise, accessible outdoor spaces, and comfortable areas for privacy and reflection can help reduce stress and improve a person’s experience of care.
Universal design principles ensure that environments are intuitive, welcoming, and easy to use, regardless of a person’s age, ability, or circumstances. In mental health settings, these considerations can support independence, dignity, and wellbeing, while helping people engage more effectively in their treatment and recovery.
Our role included reviewing the design against relevant accessibility requirements, providing advice on access-related design solutions, identifying opportunities to enhance usability for building occupants and supporting the project team in achieving inclusive design outcomes that aligned with the facility’s operational objectives.
By engaging collaboratively with architects, consultants and contractors, Architecture & Access worked alongside the project team to help ensure access outcomes were embedded throughout the development, supporting a built environment that is welcoming, intuitive and accessible for people of all abilities.
Projects such as this demonstrate how inclusive design principles can contribute to healthcare environments that are welcoming, equitable and supportive for patients, visitors and staff, while helping deliver improved health outcomes for regional communities. In modern mental health design, success is often measured not simply by whether people can physically access the building, but whether the environment actively supports recovery, reduces distress, and enables people to participate in their care. That is arguably the most important accessibility outcome in facilities such as the Rockhampton Hospital Adult Mental Health Unit.
Image description
Image (feature) 1. Knee clearance at the kitchenette with contrast door frames and natural light
Image 2. Available access for patients to outdoor spaces
Image credit – Tom Roe photography
