Jason Brown, director of Design & Development at manufacturer of ‘design-led’ contract furniture, Knightsbridge Furniture, considers some of the priorities and goals when designing and producing furniture for mental healthcare settings – including a robust construction, ease of cleaning and stringent hygiene control, good material and colour choice, and user safety.
Mental healthcare facilities have evolved dramatically over the years — and especially in the past decade, where there's been a major shift in the understanding of, and stigma around, certain disorders. Unfortunately, past treatments of these disorders bordered on barbaric if we look back far enough, sparking a catalyst for serious issues to be misunderstood and judged. Thankfully, today's landscape looks very different, and great strides have been made — with further progress on the horizon — for the understanding and care of mental health service-users.
Developments from a medical perspective are leading the way in the field, as more research, funding, and training, are undertaken to more clearly identify the causes of mental health disorders and triggers, but we've also seen a major shift in the design and decor of the facilities too. When asked to picture a mental healthcare facility, many might still imagine dark, foreboding and outdated asylums, whereas in reality, the facilities used to care for service-users facing a range of mental health issues haven't been like this for some time. The quality and therapeutic nature of such care settings have in fact progressed leaps and bounds in many cases, with some fantastic exemplars of 21st century mental healthcare environments in evidence today.
As a furniture supplier to the sector we have been in the fortunate position of witnessing this progression, but how can we continue to ensure that those accommodated in a range of mental healthcare settings are as safe and comfortable as possible, and enjoy as much of a sense of 'home from home' normality in environments as far away as possible from the 'institutional' at what can be a very stressful and difficult time? We have influenced and observed first-hand the evolution in thinking in the design of such facilities, manufacturing furniture pieces for a range of mental healthcare facilities, and visiting countless wards to scope out which pieces work well and learn more about peoples' needs and requirements. The main feature to focus on is safety, both in the form of hygiene control to keep users safe from infection, but also safe from the potential hazards some furniture can harbour.
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