With recent statistics[1] suggesting one in four people will develop a diagnosable mental health condition each year, Jason Brown, Director of Design and Development at Knightsbridge Furniture discusses the importance of providing facilities capable of giving appropriate treatment.
Aside from medical and clinical treatment, which continues to improve as our understanding of certain conditions grows, one of the most important elements is to provide care environments that promote calm and peacefulness. There are a number of ways to do this, from selecting the right paint colour for walls to choosing furniture and fittings that support treatment and recovery.
Creating a supportive environment
As an approved supplier of furniture for the NHS and SNH for more than 60 years, we have come to understand that the quality and style of furniture offered by care facilities is key. No matter how an individual’s condition might manifest, we must remember that they are ill and deserve to be treated in an environment that we would all find comfortable and accommodating.
With this in mind, furniture which looks inviting and as un-institutional in appearance as possible should be provided. Consider pieces more in line with what you might expect to find at home or in a hotel. Thankfully we have moved beyond the days when furniture for mental health facilities looked more like medical apparatus, and there are many examples of great design-led items on the market.
In an environment where tempers can occasionally flare, providing furniture that is robust and sturdy is imperative. Additional weighting to make pieces heavier is a solution to this but one which comes with its own set of issues. Making a piece of furniture heavier does make it harder to be used as a weapon but it also makes it difficult for staff, and those delivering it, to move, and accidents can happen.
At Knightsbridge, we deal with projects on a scheme-by-scheme, product-by-product basis, working closely with our customers to ensure we provide the correct solution to problems like this.
In addition to the practical side of our products, it has also been proved that a pleasant, airy and vibrant environment can improve staff attitudes to work. It’s therefore important to fit-out spaces with furniture made with fabric selections and designs which support this. At Knightsbridge, we design our furniture to really stand out, utilising colourful shades of green, orange and blue, amongst others, to put a smile on people’s faces, staff, patients and family members alike.
Working together
Our growing understanding of mental health conditions has challenged us as a business to ensure we create products that meet new and constantly changing demands. As you can imagine, this has a direct impact on our products, from the way they are manufactured and the materials used right through to the costs and possibly even the skill set required to deliver the right solution.
Consequently, it’s critical to ensure we’re getting things right; and working with facilities to test products for suitability and effectiveness is a great way to do this. The subsequent feedback we have received from these trials has helped us to further the development of our furniture and fittings, adding, removing and creating new features as a result.
This collaborative approach is perhaps best demonstrated with our recent work on The Harbour, a new state-of-the-art mental health hospital in Blackpool. The facility is one of the largest in the UK and we were tasked by the NHS to fit-out specific areas of the hospital with appropriate, and in some cases bespoke, furniture and fittings. Together with input from both clinicians and patients, we were able to help bring this outstanding new hospital to fruition.
Working collaboratively with a contractor you trust can be hugely beneficial to your project and result in the perfect environment for patients.
Conclusion
Developing spaces which encourage people living with mental health conditions to relax is an important part of offering treatment and support; it is also an incredibly complex process. New issues inevitably emerge and it is up to us, as an industry, to provide the solutions. As our understanding of mental health conditions develops, along with advancements in technology, we can continue to provide effective solutions that will help to aid the comfort of those living with a mental health condition.
About Knightsbridge Furniture
Knightsbridge Furniture is one of the UK’s most respected contract furniture manufacturers, supplying the mental health, health care and care markets with quality British products for more than 75 years. From the timber mill to the customer’s doorstep, the company takes enormous pride in facilitating the entire production and delivery of its products onsite and is dedicated to quality and design excellence. It has been an approved supplier for the NHS and SNH for more than 60 years.
