NHS Lincolnshire installs 38 CoWin Play units

The Lincoln Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Lincoln (UK) will be the first organisation to have Recornect's latest solution, the CoWin™ Play™ installed.  

The Lincoln Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) was one of the first organisations in the world to go with Recornect's de-escalation solution, CoWin™, in their acute psychiatric unit. The need to implement Recornect's work dynamic in units with medium-level security grew with those years of successful deployment of the CoWin™. On the basis of that need and in close collaboration with the LPFT Team, Recornect developed a completely new solution - the CoWin™Play™. It has the same powerful features, such as the GRASP™ software platform, but its primary purposes are interactive communication, recreation, education and to a lesser degree, de-escalation.  

Tracy Colpitts:

'Recornect's CoWin™ de-escalation solution has been used intensively for five years now, in our psychiatric unit, with excellent results for both our clients and our care staff. We want to have the same tried and trusted work dynamic that we're used to in our acute psychiatry unit for Castle and Ellis, our new intensive care units. However, they’re medium-security so the extremely violence-resistant structure of the CoWin™ system isn't actually needed. To put it simply, we were looking for a safe, interactive communication solution that has the advantages of the GRASP software platform. Based on this wish, we collaborated with Recornect on a solution that had far fewer hardware requirements, and that became the CoWin™ Play™.'

Alan Pattison:

‘Because we already had a lot of experience with the CoWin™ de-escalation solution, we had no trouble justifying the investment in the CoWin™ Play™ solution by substantiating it with favourable experiences in practice and numbers. Our new units in Boston (UK), still to be built, will also be equipped with rooms with a CoWin™ Play™ solution. It's really great to have technology in-house that actually makes our work easier and more pleasant. Not only for the care staff, but for our clients too. For example, if someone is involuntarily committed, the strict accompanying legislation causes an awful lot of paperwork. For clients being admitted acutely, this is often a huge amount of information to take in. Thanks to CoWin™ and GRASP™, they can absorb this information when they've had a chance to calm down, in their own room and at a time that suits them. Visits by the Supervisory Committee established that after the installation of CoWin™, there was a significant rise in numbers of clients who had not only gone through their documents, but understood the content well.'

Tracy Colpitts adds:

'We live in a high-tech society where most people are accustomed to using devices such as smartphones or tablets. When clients see the CoWin™ during the intake, it's often reassuring, because they intuitively know its purpose. For example, we upload their favourite music or family photos which in many cases has a really calming effect. Should there still be some aggression, CoWin™ means we always have a very safe basis for staying in contact with each other, through video chat, for example. Since we've been using the CoWin™ de-escalation solution, the number of forced containments has fallen drastically and the work climate in the unit has improved hugely. That's just one of the reasons why I'm confidently looking forward to the implementation of the CoWin™ Play™ solution in our new acute care units.’

Recornect is installing a total of 38 CoWin™ Play™ solutions divided among the "Castle" and "Ellis" units and also two CoWin™ de-escalation solutions for the de-escalation spaces. All done in an excellent collaboration with both care staff and the architect and contractor.

Recornect would like to thank Mr Alan Pattison and Ms Tracy Colpitts for their kind cooperation in this case study.