FURNITURE – TV CABINETS


A picture of health


How modern anti-ligature TV cabinets are helping to make mental health environments more homely


H


ealth design guidance states that entertainment services, in the form of fixed or portable


televisions and multi-media radio/ music systems, may be provided in mental health service user bedrooms and other key areas to ‘help facilitate the creation of a personal domestic environment and a relaxing atmosphere’. In fact, it is now widely accepted that


bedrooms in mental health facilities should have a TV as standard, so that service users are comfortable and do not feel like they are being punished.


Dan Vesty of Tough Furniture


explains: “TVs in mental health bedrooms can play an important role in keeping service users connected with the outside world, as well as going some way towards fulfilling their needs for connection with other people.” But just putting a TV on a stand, or fixing it to a wall, clearly poses a threat. Graham Gallagher, director of


ProEnc, which supplies entertainment solutions to mental health trusts around the world, said: “There are several things to think about when TVs are installed into mental health units.


“Usually the screens are wall


mounted on wall brackets, which could pose a ligature risk; they have cables for power and an aerial, which are both accessible on standard screens; and the screens themselves can be smashed and used as a weapon or to self harm.”


THINKING AHEAD ProEnc’s solution fully encloses the TV and cables, preventing anyone other than authorised staff from accessing the TV via two high-security locks. In addition, the viewing window is the thickest in the industry, with the


mhdf magazine


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