Often times when a patient comes to a behavorial healthcare facility, they are in a vulnerable state of mind and may have ideas of harming themselves, or possibly others. In many cases this may result in ligature danger.
A ligature risk is any point in which a patient could attach a cord, rope, bed sheet or other material to be looped or tied to create a point of attachment, that may be used for hanging or strangulation.
In some scenarios, one-on-one observation is enough to curb ligature danger, but what should be done in areas where one-on-one observation is not always possible, such as in resident bedrooms?
As resident rooms in behavioral healthcare facilities have less supervision than the common areas, creating a ligature resistant environment is paramount for resident safety. To achieve this, each resident room should be furnished with anti-ligature furniture and finishing.
Simply put, anti-ligature furniture, or ligature-resistant furniture, is defined as lacking points where any material, such as rope or cord, could be used to tie-down or bind ligatures.
Some anti-ligature furniture that could be installed in resident rooms includes anti-ligature beds, nightstands, storage shelves, desks, and even suicide resistant chairs
Some ligature points in resident rooms to avoid, or use ligature-resistant alternatives, may include coat hooks, pipes and radiators, curtain rods, ceiling fixtures and even door handles and hinges.
Outside of the resident rooms in your facility, conducting an environment risk assessment for the whole facility is critical in order to reduce ligature danger. In addition to assessing anchor points and their potential misuse for harm, other objects that may be misused or weaponized need to be assessed and potentially replaced.
Each and every area a patient may occupy in the facility must be carefully assessed in order to appropriately create a plan that will address and reduce ligature danger in your facility.
Some areas to pay particularly close attention to may include the ceiling type, electrical outlets, the type of glass used in windows, doors and door hardware, nails that may be picked loose, the furniture and any other objects that may be used to inflict harm.
Additionally, close examination of the furniture in both resident and common rooms should be conducted to ensure resident safety.
One of the most critical ways to reduce ligature danger in your facility is to install anti-ligature furniture.
In addition to eliminating all tie-down points, anti-ligature furniture boasts several design features to further enhance the safety of your facility. Many pieces of anti-ligature furniture remove all moving parts and feature an extremely durable, impenetrable surface to eliminate the possibility of concealing contraband.
Anti-ligature furniture can not only provide residents with an added level of safety and comfort, but gives staff members peace of mind knowing residents are out of harms way.
Reducing ligature danger in behavorial healthcare facilities is of paramount importance, and installing anti-ligature furniture contributes to a safer facility for both patients and staff. An assessment of the environment to ensure all areas of the facility are equipped to reduce ligature danger should be conducted regularly.
To reduce ligature danger, Max-Secure has been providing behavioral healthcare facilities with industry-leading anti-ligature furniture for over four decades. Our carefully designed and expertly manufactured institutional furniture is completely maintenance free, and will serve your facility for years to come.
Reduce the ligature danger in your facility, and furnish the resident rooms and common areas in your facility with Max-Secure anti-ligature institutional furniture!
