Česky
The project, which is unrivalled in the Czech Republic, has a clear goal: to be the most modern facility of its kind, dominated by quality medicine and a pleasant, modern environment for all clients and employees. The importance of the Mental Rehabilitation Centre is obvious, as mental health problems affect one in three Czech adults. "We can treat the body quite well, but it is worse with the soul. The construction of the centre will therefore enable us to provide psychiatric and psychological care to people who are struggling with mental difficulties. These are increasing rapidly at the moment," explains Sotirios Zavalianis, owner of AKESO Holding.
Clients deserve modern facilities and varied activities
The full range of acute and follow-up psychiatric care with the involvement of top Czech psychiatry experts will be provided in a five-storey building covering 25,000 square metres. The building will be interwoven with the latest technologies and equipment to meet the functional and layout requirements for 21st century medicine.
"The hall will be a distinctive and dominant feature of the entire building, giving character and atmosphere to our centre. There will also be a café, a cinema, a sauna, a swimming pool, a gymnasium or rooms for a wide range of therapies," says Mgr. Pavel Scholz, Ph.D., Deputy for Project Management of AKESO Holding, and confirms that everything will be available for clients and employees of the centre. The demystification and destigmatization of psychiatric care, to which the meeting of clients, employees and the public can contribute, is one of the ideas of our project.
Sotirios Zavalianis describes the reasons why we pay really careful attention to the furnishing of the building and all the facilities: "A person in need who is confined to one room all day without any activity and occasionally visits the group therapy room does not have ideal conditions. Our project therefore involves a lot of activity, because as we know, activity reduces stress and has a positive effect on how a person feels."
What all happens on the construction site?
The progress of what is happening on site is evidenced by a number of visible changes - the construction lift has been dismantled, the crane will soon be gone and the roof and window assembly will be completed in the coming weeks. Of course there will be safety glass that will not break on impact and is not at risk of shattering. The most visible element will probably be the façade. We plan to complete it by the end of this year. "But we won't be idle inside the building either. For example, electrical work is being carried out in parallel with the construction, and other professions are also working hard, without which the construction cannot be done," says Pavel Scholz. "At the same time, we are continuously working on adjusting the project, because the building was designed five years ago and technology has advanced a lot in that time. Some elements in the automation and security areas have therefore had to be redesigned," explains Scholz.
With the enthusiasm of a proper project manager, he adds that we at AKESO are planning to give ourselves a Christmas present as part of this project, which is the complete completion of the first model room. We want to use it to test the practicality and durability of all the equipment. "In the rooms, however, we have to combine comfort and modern equipment with safety, so we are carefully looking for a balance between these two areas," says František Vlček, M.D., Ph.D., MHA, Director for Processes, Quality and Efficiency at AKESO Holding.
Safety will be guaranteed
Although there are still many steps on the way to the completion of the project and it will require a great deal of commitment from the entire AKESO team and dozens of other entities, we must already look in detail at the time after the centre is completed. This is planned for the end of 2023 and immediately afterwards the Mental Rehabilitation Centre will start its operations. In parallel with the construction, we are therefore preparing an overview of what will happen in the building and what the staffing will be. To give a better idea of how this preparation works in practice, František Vlček gives an example.We are quite far along in this direction and we are already recruiting senior staff for each section. With them we can address the specific set-up of the departments in question, but also the equipment, security and access management of each individual."
Rooms at the Mental Rehabilitation Center will offer unique lighting
- The centre will have 200 beds in a variety of room types.
- Leading architects are designing the look of the rooms.
- Attention is being paid to the choice of materials and the quality of furnishings.
- Clients will be offered innovative circadian lighting simulating sunlight in the rooms.
- The light intensity will vary according to the phase of the day - in the morning, clients will have different light in their rooms than in the evening twilight. The system will be individually tailored to each patient.
The flagship of Czech psychiatry with the best in the field
"We want CDR to become the natural authority of psychiatry in the region. We will emphasize the changes that contemporary psychiatry deserves, but at the same time adhere to the many qualities of psychiatric care in the Czech Republic. In short, we want to transfer the best of a well-functioning professional framework into a modern environment," says Marek Janka, MD, Deputy Director of AKESO Holding for Medical Care, outlining the principles of the centre's operation. A wide range of patients can find psychiatric and psychological care in the Beroun facility. We will deal with all psychiatric diagnoses within the framework of acute care in open and closed wards, in follow-up care, as well as in outpatient services. Of course, we will have facilities for online consultations with psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, because without the involvement of modern telemedicine projects, the centre would not be able to fulfil its ambition to become an example for the Czech and European healthcare system.
"Working with clients in an environment that is not a hospital but a comprehensive mental health centre attracts many professionals. Already now we are being approached by doctors and psychologists who are interested in working at the Mental Rehabilitation Centre. We will start actively recruiting next year, when the HR department will be working hard to fill all professions. Of course, we will also reach out to school students and we will also look for recommendations from our existing employees," says Marek Janka. František Vlček also confirms that references are the best source of new employees. He adds that due to the wide range of modern and specialised therapies that will be provided at the centre, qualified psychotherapists will become an essential part of the recruitment process. In total, the Centre for Mental Rehabilitation should have 160 employees.
Treatment goes hand in hand with research
The CDR will focus on research in the fields of psychiatry and psychology and on training medical professionals. We are also planning educational events for the public, so that the scope of the centre is as broad as possible and extends into other spheres.
At the centre, we want to help everyone who needs psychiatric care.
At AKESO Holding, we always honour social responsibility. This also applies to the centre being built, which, with its unique concept, is in no way intended to disrupt the activities of existing psychiatric care providers, but on the contrary wants to complement and fit in with them.
The fact is that there is no psychiatric facility south-west of Prague where patients can be brought for hospitalisation. This is one of the reasons why Beroun was chosen. Patients with acute problems who are brought in by the ambulance service will form one part of the centre's clientele. Patients with chronic problems or those who come to us on the recommendation of an outpatient psychiatrist will also receive comprehensive professional care. We already know that the interest of patients will be huge. That is also why we will do everything we can to ensure that the basis of care is covered by public health insurance. Marek Janka, who is in charge of medical care at AKESO Holding, confirms that we are facing major negotiations with health insurance companies.
However, in addition to covered care, the Beroun centre will offer a number of highly superior hotel-type services, which clients will contribute to financially. As an example, we can mention the VIP apartments, which will meet the criteria of a luxury stay in terms of their equipment, size and services. "However, we must stress that we are not a VIP sanatorium, but a full-fledged facility for psychiatric patients. The superiority will lie in the hotel and accompanying services, not in the psychiatric care provided. Our clients will not experience any differences in this," confirms Marek Janka.
