NEWS
Stylish two-seater chair and sofa minimise concealment risk COVER STORY
Concealment of contraband and sharp objects can be a serious safety concern in mental healthcare environments. The nature of traditional upholstery methods means soft seating products often have deep creases or gaps around cushions, which provide an opportunity for concealment and can become the target of deliberate damage. In order to conduct safety inspections, staff may be required to check these gaps with their hands, risking personal injury. Furniture manufacturer, Pineapple Contracts, designed its Seal chair and two- seater sofa to reduce risk for patients and staff by eliminating seams, creases, and gaps. Seal’s smooth continuous shape was designed to eliminate such gaps, minimising
opportunities for concealment, and enabling staff to conduct visual safety inspections. Even the underside is safe, protected by a smooth base surface which is securely attached using inaccessible fixings. Further safety is provided by adding optional ballast, creating a heavily weighted product which cannot be picked up or thrown. Seal’s soft foam core is protected by a water-resistant outer skin, creating a hygienic surface which can be easily cleaned and dried, ready for re-use. Pineapple Contracts Westmead, Aylesford Maidstone, Kent ME20 6XJ T: 44 (0) 1622 237 830
E:
sales@pineapplecontracts.com
www.pineapplecontracts.com
‘Bordersand boundaries’and their significance explained
A new Design in Mental Health Network guide to designing ‘with borders and boundaries in mind’ was unveiled on the first day of August’s DiMH 2021 conference and exhibition (see also pages 24-26 of this issue). Borders & Boundaries is the
sixth Design With People in Mind booklet published by DiMHN to date, and, like its predecessors, draws on a wide range of UK and international research, study, and real-life evidence, as well as service-user and staff input. The attractively illustrated 30-page booklet provides easily readable, practical advice on, for instance, ‘Maintaining boundaries and privacy through sight and sound’, ‘Creating therapeutic spaces through radical design’, and ‘Creating borders using sensitive lighting’. Borders & Boundaries references academic and scientific studies and their conclusions on how good demarcation of spaces in mental healthcare facilities, flexibility in their use, and sufficient adaptability and ‘blurring of boundaries’ between staff and patient-designated spaces, can aid recovery. Conversely, it warns that using a space considered by a patient to be their own ‘private space’ for an altogether different purpose – such as holding a therapy session in a bedroom – can create a perception of staff ‘overstepping boundaries’.
One of the latest DiMHN booklet’s overriding conclusions, indeed, is that the use of spaces has both a physical and psychological / emotional impact on service- users, while staff need the ‘right’ environment to offer the best care. The section on ‘Maintaining boundaries and privacy through
THE NETWORK | OCTOBER 2021
sight and sound’ highlights the importance of striking a sensible balance between security and safety on the one hand, and patient wellbeing and a degree of autonomy on the other.
The co-authors were Professor Paula Reavey, Professor of Psychology and Mental Health at London South Bank University (LSBU), who
leads DiMHN’s Research and Education Workstream, Professor Steven Brown, Professor of Health and Organisational Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, Donna Ciarlo, Research Assistant and Doctoral student at LSBU, and Katharine Lazenby, a DiMHN director, and People Participation Worker and expert-by- experience at East London NHS Foundation Trust.
To access a copy, visit
www.dimhn.org to join the Network and access its resources. DiMHN Chair, Philip Ross, said: “Membership is free to individuals, while we would encourage commercial companies accessing the Design with People in Mind booklets to consider joining, or to donate via the website to help us continue our work.”
NHS has first female CEO in its history
Amanda Pritchard – for the past two years the service’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) – has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of NHS England.
The first woman in the health service’s history to hold the post, which she took up on 1 August, she succeeds Sir Simon Stevens, and will be responsible for an annual budget of over £130 bn.
She said: “I am honoured to lead the NHS, particularly as the first woman chief executive of an organisation whose staff are more than three-quarters female. I have always been incredibly proud to work in the health service, but never more so than over the last 18 months.” Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “Over the past 18 months NHS staff have faced their greatest challenge, and have proven time and again that they deserve the nation’s gratitude for their fortitude and commitment. I thank Lord Stevens for his invaluable contribution during this time. Amanda Pritchard brings an unparalleled wealth and depth of experience, having worked in the service for nearly 25 years.” Amanda Pritchard began her NHS career as a graduate management trainee in 1997 after studying at Oxford University, and has held a variety of other NHS management positions. Before joining NHSE/I in 2019, she was CEO of London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and Deputy Chief Executive at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.
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©Damian Griffiths Hospital Rooms/Tim Shaw
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