Like any large facility, the idea of furnishing a prison or behavioural healthcare facility can feel like a daunting task. Just like any other facility, however, these challenging environments need to be comfortably furnished with safe, and practical institutional furniture .
Every room in your facility serves a unique purpose, and should be furnished as such, in order to best enhance the experience of patients, residents, visitors and staff members.
Resident rooms specifically present a challenge, as they are minimally supervised so all precautions must be taken. Perhaps the crowning jewel of any bedroom, in an institutional facility or not, is the bed, and just like choosing a bed for your own bedroom, there are many things to consider when choosing an anti-ligature bed for your facility.
Beds are used every day, there’s no way around that fact. For this reason alone, durability should be at the top of your priority list when sourcing anti-ligature beds.
The choice of material in anti-ligature furniture plays a major role in the durability, especially when subject to everyday use in challenging environments.
Reinforced fiber glass materials have proven to be excellent choices for manufacturing anti-ligature beds. These hard plastics not only match or exceed the strength of traditional materials, such as steel, but can add a sense of comfort not provided by other materials. Prison beds made out of hard plastics are virtually indestructible and will provide any facility with unmatched long-term value. Weaker materials may be broken and could potentially pose as a safety risk.
While residing within your facility, residents or patients may already be in a vulnerable state, so providing additional levels of safety wherever possible is a top priority. Anti-ligature beds, which by definition do not posses any tie-down points, enhance the safety of resident rooms by preventing self-harm and reducing the risk of harm to others.
As an additional aspect of safety, anti-ligature furniture is constructed as one singular piece, which eliminates the possibility of concealing contraband. Other safety features to look for include rounded corners, a secure installation that does not allow the bed to move around, and the use of a pick proof sealant.
The use of fiber glass reinforced materials not only lends to the safety and durability of prison beds, but also enhances the cleaning process. Due to the everyday, intensive use and turn-over rates anti-ligature furniture undergoes in a facility, it is imperative the furniture is to clean and maintain. These hard plastic surfaces can easily be wiped down and will not deteriorate under the frequent use of cleaning products.
In facilities with large populations maintaining cleanliness and frequent sanitizing is important in order to not spread viruses, which can move through facilities like wildfire and cause many residents, and staff members, to fall ill. Providing easy to clean anti-ligature furniture further protects staff members as they will not have to spend long amounts of times in high-security areas.
Often used as a last resort, and only under the supervision and direction of trained medical professionals, restraint beds can help keep residents and staff members safe from harm. As such, it is important to follow stringent guidelines when having to use restraints, and chose a ligature restraint bed that does not cause harm to the patient or resident. An anti-ligature restraint bed which as multiple points of restraint can be an ideal, and flexible solution. Only using the necessary restraints is recommended, and each case of restraining a patient or resident should be assessed by a trained medical professional.
Not all anti-ligature beds come with restraints, so it is important to decide whether your facility will need the option or not.
Just because the facility is tough, doesn’t mean it has to feel rigid and uncomfortable! Increasing the comfort of your facility can have a major positive impact on the mood and mental state of residents, patients and visitors, contributing to an overall better environment. One aspect to consider is color. The use of nature inspired colors within your facility can promote a feeling of calm and mental clarity.
Creating a home like feeling is resident rooms can further promote comfort and calmness in residents. Providing a comfortable, yet safe, institutional furniture mattress can residents feel at ease.
As resident rooms within a facility tend to have less supervison than common areas it is critical to provide additional levels of safety whenever possible. As one of the main features of any bedroom, the bed must be carefully chosen to provide long-term safety, comfort and ease of cleaning.
Max-Secure Institutional Furniture has been working with industry experts for more than four decades to design and manufacture industry leading anti-ligature furniture. With safety at the forefront of every of our bed designs, we don’t sacrifice comfort! Our anti-ligature beds, along with our full line of resident room furniture, is designed to make residents feel at ease, while providing the level of safety your facility demands!
