When we design mental health furniture, our goal is to provide peace of mind. Whether that means heavily weighted furniture which cannot be picked up, or reduced-ligature furniture to protect patients from harm, creating safe mental health furniture is always the top priority.
We create strong furniture which is built to last in mental health, learning disabilities and other challenging environments.
Here are some of the things we need to consider when designing mental health furniture in order to protect people from harm:
Hanging or strangulation is the most common method of suicide for patients in psychiatric care (used in approximately 75% of cases), so minimising ligature risks is a key area of concern for care providers. Our reduced-ligature wardrobes are designed to maximise safety in mental health environments.
Learn more about our reduced-ligature furniture
Occasions of violence and aggression are not uncommon in psychiatric units as a result of patients being in acute behavioural distress. In these situations, furniture can pose a risk of being used as a weapon, either by being picked up and swung/thrown or by being broken into smaller parts (e.g. a chair leg) and being used as a striking weapon. The heavily weighted chairs in our Ryno range are designed to be near-impossible to pick up, protecting staff and patients from injury.
Learn more about our safe furniture
Concealment (also known as stashing) of contraband is a significant safety risk in mental health environments. Medication is sometimes concealed in an attempt to evade treatment, or to pass to other patients which may compromise recovery plans. Sharp objects may also be concealed in connection with self-harm or to use as a weapon to harm others. Staff are also at risk of harm from sharp objects when conducting contraband searches. Our anti-concealment products are designed to minimise concealment opportunities and make inspection safer for staff.
Learn more about our anti-concealment furniture
While care providers will always aim to minimise disruptive behaviour using verbal de-escalation, this approach may not always be successful. When a patient is in severe distress and initial verbal de-escalation techniques have proven ineffective, physical restraint may be used as a last resort to prevent the patient causing harm to themselves and others.
Learn more about our physical restraint furniture
Children and adults with severe learning disabilities often experience continence problems, caused either by physical or developmental reasons. As well as requiring sensitive nursing care, incontinence can also put additional demands upon furniture. Our water-resistant products are carefully designed to improve hygiene in challenging environments.
Learn more about our hygienic furniture
Excessive noise in mental health environments can be disturbing to already sensitive patients, and potentially detrimental to treatment and recovery plans. Our acoustic products are designed to minimise the effects of excessive noise, creating calmer, more therapeutic spaces.
"Ryno is currently the Trusts preferred range of bedroom furniture for our adolescent and adult acute wards...It is bright, robust, cleanable and is available in a good range of colours enabling us to choose a modern calming therapeutic environment..."
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