WINDOWS
Ongoing safety fears over window restrictors
Warnings over inadequate window restrictors in mental health units came to the fore once again earlier this year when a patient suffered serious injuries aſter falling 20ſt from a hospital ward. Here, we find out what the implications are for estates and facilities moving forward
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n 2013 the Department of Health issued an Estate and Facilities Alert warning that ‘window restrictors may be inadequate in preventing a determined effort to force a window open beyond the 100mm restriction’. The alert stated that: “All healthcare
organisations should review the guidance on window restrictors contained in Health Technical Memorandum HTM 55 Windows and associated hardware; and where problems are identified, a programme to repair or replace damaged restrictors should be put in place. But, six years on, it appears problems
remain, evidenced by an incident at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent in January in which a 52-year-old patient was treated for multiple injuries after falling 20ft from the window of a ward.
20 mhdf magazine Commenting after the fall, Karen
Rule, executive director of nursing at the trust, said: “The window was fitted with restrictors which met all the required health and safety standards to ensure that our patients are protected. “However, the patient used significant and sustained force to break through these restrictors.” So, are modern window restrictors themselves at fault. Or are there other issues being overlooked?
POOR STANDARDS Speaking to mhdf, David Falkingham, operations director at manufacturer, Safehinge Primera, said most modern restrictors meet the relevant safety guideline, BS EN 13126-5:2011. However, the 500 Newtons (N) holding force required to reach this standard is
inadequate, he added. And he also warned that the problem
often lies with the way the restrictors are specified, installed, and maintained. He explained: “Safehinge Primera’s
two-part restrictors are specifically designed to work within the mental health sector and were tested to fail at the BRE. We have the durability test evidence for all of our standard sizes, reaching holding forces of 1800N, but what estates managers need to do is look at how they are fixed to the windows.” Guidance from the Health and Safety
Executive states that where window restrictors are already fitted, managers have a responsibility to ensure the correct-size restrictor is used and that they are fitted in accordance with installation instructions and are not interfered with.
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