Attitudes towards a borderline personality disorder unit - a small-scale qualitative survey

Springbank Ward, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, is a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) unit employing positive risk-taking, allowing for relevant psychological therapies to be carried out. The aim of this survey was to identify staff and patient attitudes to Springbank Ward. Previous research has not addressed the question of patient and staff perception of these therapeutic approaches.

We used a qualitative open-ended semi-structured survey of staff and patients (n=2+4, respectively). We gathered information on the perception of the unit, staff, safety and the positive and negative aspects of the ward. Interview transcripts and participation notes were coded and categorised for emerging themes.

The four main themes were: views on the unit: 'safe space', 'opportunity', 'community'; views on the programme: 'successful', 'skills-based', involving patients in their own recovery; views on staff: important part of the therapeutic process by delivering elements of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT); views on safety: patients and staff feel safe in the context of positive risk-taking.

The long-term therapeutic programme offered at Springbank is perceived positively by both patients and staff. Involving patients actively in their recovery remains a powerful tool. The delivery of DBT by nursing staff contributes significantly to the positive perception of the unit. Positive risk-taking is perceived to be a good and safe strategy.