Flooring


Carpeting affords many therapeutic benefits


Catherine Helliker, marketing manager at danfloor UK, a specialist manufacturer and supplier of commercial carpet, explains how danfloor helps architects and designers create spaces which are not only fit for purpose aesthetically and practically for service-users, patients, and staff, but are also able to withstand demanding use. She explains the significant contribution that carpeting can make within a variety of mental healthcare settings, and some key considerations when specifying it, and tackles some of the keys issues when it comes to cleaning and infection control.


When selecting flooring for care environments, and especially hospitals or inpatient or outpatient units treating those with mental health challenges, it is important to consider a number of factors – including aesthetics, functionality, overall product costs, and the ability to maintain and clean the chosen flooring solution. At danfloor we are the first to admit that carpet may not be suitable for all locations of a hospital or care facility, but we believe that when it comes to areas such as consultation


and waiting rooms, bedrooms, corridors, and communal lounges, carpet plays a key role in creating a therapeutic environment for those living in or visiting a facility. Taking this into account, danfloor has submitted recommendations for the use of carpet within non-clinical healthcare environments for the 2017 edition of the Department of Health’s Health Building Note, Dementia Friendly Health and Social Care Environments. The thoroughly researched piece makes special reference to the use of carpet


Mental healthcare facilities can be noisy places during both the day and night, and the installation of carpets within corridors and bedrooms can assist with absorbing unwanted noise


within care environments, including mental healthcare facilities and the residential care market, and also addresses some of the misconceptions associated with the use of carpet within facilities, especially when it comes to cleaning and infection control.


NAPICU/DIMHN GUIDANCE


In addition, NAPICU, the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure units, and the Design in Mental Health Network, make reference to the use of carpet (on pages 17, 28, and 36) within their recently published Guidance for Psychiatric Intensive Care Units 2017,1 making specific reference to the use of textile flooring, as it has many advantages – including sound reduction in communal areas and bedrooms. NAPICU’s recommendations state that ‘Where possible, flooring should incorporate cushioning below the finish to reduce physical effects on staff and patients when restraint is required. The use of carpet or carpet tiles with an impervious backing and an anti-bacteriological treatment, together with the correct cleaning regime and replacement programme, can reduce infection control issues’. So, why should you say ‘yes’ to carpets within a healthcare setting, what in fact are the therapeutic benefits of carpets, and how do they actually enhance the healing environment? The following information should provide you with all the answers and give you the confidence to select carpet for your care environment.


ACOUSTICS


While the carpeting offered the right look and feel for the Bedale Centre in Bognor Regis, the interior designer was also impressed by its environmental pedigree and characteristics, and its Wear Classification rating.


Unwanted noise can have an adverse effect on people in hospitals and other care facilities, with service-users in mental healthcare facilities – who need a quiet and calming environment in which to recuperate – no exception; put simply, excessive noise can lead to a reduction in both comfort and wellbeing. For those working in such environments, meanwhile, performance levels and the ability to concentrate can be negatively impacted by noise. UK Building Regulations stipulate that a suitable floorcovering should have a weighted reduction in impact sound pressure level of not less than 17 dB when measured in accordance with EN ISO 140-8, and calculated in accordance with EN ISO 717-2. By installing carpet much of the sound within a room is absorbed, thereby reducing sound reverberation. Carpets also help to improve the acoustics of a room by reducing impact noise, which relates to the control of sound from one space to another, helping to create calm and peaceful living and working environments.


THE NETWORK JANUARY 2018 19


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