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From Support Service to Strategic Enabler: The Evolving Role of Estates and Facilities in Mental Health 

For estates and facilities leaders in mental health, every decision has the potential to influence safety, manage risk, shape service user experience, support clinical outcomes and drive operational effectiveness. While many healthcare environments face complex operational challenges, mental health settings require organisations to balance safety, risk, therapeutic and recovery-focused care, often for people living with complex and long-term conditions.

These opportunities and challenges were the focus of a recent webinar hosted by Sodexo, which brought together perspectives from NHS estates and facilities leaders and clinical expertise to explore how food, facilities management and the wider care environment can better support recovery. Featuring insights from Marc Reed, Director of Capital Estates and Facilities at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Jennifer Holmyard, Head of Facilities Services at West London NHS Trust, and Yvonne Spencer, Clinical Lead at Sodexo Health & Care, the discussion highlighted a growing shift in thinking across the sector.

Why mental health demands a different estates and facilities management approach

While healthcare estates and facilities best practice is often developed in acute settings, mental health presents a unique set of requirements. Longer lengths of stay mean that the physical environment becomes more than simply a place where care is delivered. Making the environment an integral part of the therapeutic environment and recovery journey. The design and delivery of facilities services can directly influence safety, wellbeing and recovery outcomes.

 

 

Safety remains paramount, but leaders increasingly recognise the need to balance dignity, comfort and experience in effective service delivery. Mental health providers are looking for solutions that support clinical outcomes while creating environments that feel safe, familiar and responsive to individual needs.

As discussed during the webinar, successful mental health environments are built through collaboration between estates, facilities, clinical teams, service users and carers. Rather than viewing facilities management as a support function, forward-thinking organisations are recognising its role as a strategic enabler of care.

Food as a driver of recovery and wellbeing

One of the strongest themes to emerge was the role food can play in supporting wellbeing and recovery.

In mental health settings, food is about far more than nutrition. It can provide comfort, familiarity, social connection and a sense of normality during periods of crisis or uncertainty. The simple act of choosing a meal can also restore an element of personal control at a time when many other decisions may be made on a service user's behalf. 

 

 

The discussion highlighted how leading trusts are using food services to support broader recovery goals through:

  • Greater choice and flexibility
  • Menus tailored to cultural, religious and clinical needs
  • Opportunities for social interaction and community building
  • Practical food and cooking activities that support independence

Balancing safety, experience and operational effectiveness

Mental health estates leaders face a continual balancing act between safety, quality, therapeutic value, operational demands and financial pressures.

 

The webinar explored how this complexity requires organisations to move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions. The needs of a psychiatric intensive care unit, an eating disorder service or a rehabilitation ward can differ significantly, requiring facilities services that can adapt accordingly.

 

A recurring message was the importance of listening, learning and leading. By actively engaging service users, clinicians and support teams throughout the design, delivery and evaluation of services, organisations can make more informed decisions and create environments that genuinely support recovery.

Building stronger partnerships between clinical and FM teams

Facilities teams interact with service users every day, giving them a valuable perspective that can help enhance care delivery. The webinar highlighted the benefits of closer integration between estates and facilities teams and clinical colleagues, including: 

  • Better communication and shared understanding of service user needs
  • More responsive service delivery
  • Greater consistency for service users
  • Earlier identification of potential concerns
  • Enhanced therapeutic environments that support clinical outcomes

This collaboration can be particularly powerful in mental health settings, where seemingly small details such as the timing of cleaning activities, noise levels, meal presentation or continuity of personnel can have a significant impact on a service user's experience.

 

Turning data, technology and insight into service improvement

The discussion also explored how data, technology and service insight can help providers better understand preferences, improve responsiveness and create more personalised experiences. From digital meal ordering systems that increase choice to data that helps identify trends and reduce waste, technology can provide valuable insight to support continuous improvement. Yet speakers were clear that the real value comes from combining innovation with meaningful engagement, ensuring services are shaped by a genuine understanding of the lived experience of service users.

The opportunity for estates and facilities leaders

As mental health providers continue to face growing demand and a need for greater flexibility, the role of estates and facilities management will become increasingly important in supporting safe, effective and therapeutic care.

The organisations achieving the greatest success are those that design services around people, not processes. They listen to service users, work in partnership with clinical teams and recognise that food, facilities and the environment are integral components of the recovery journey.

For estates and facilities leaders, that presents a significant opportunity: to move beyond operational delivery and become a strategic contributor to improved experiences, better outcomes and more resilient mental health services. 

 

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Find out how Sodexo can support your organisation with integrated facilities management, healthcare catering and services designed around the needs of patients, staff and visitors.

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