Alongside key elements such as lighting, interior décor, artwork, and good air quality, the quality of furniture in a healthcare setting plays a key role in creating a comfortable, fit-for-purpose, and therapeutic environment for patients, and a good staff working environment.
Specifiers of healthcare furniture must, however, balance the need for comfort, aesthetics, and an appropriate ‘style’, with practical factors such as ease-of-cleaning, durability, robustness, load-bearing capacity, and, where patients are at risk of selfharm, an anti-ligature design. HEJ asked Alan Towns, managing director of Knightsbridge Furniture, for his views on some of the key aspects of furniture selection and specification for healthcare facilities.
HEJ: What notable trends have become apparent in the design of furniture for healthcare facilities in the past few years, in terms, for example, of furniture producers responding to particular demands and requirements from estates managers and other healthcare sector specifiers?
AT: Demands for healthcare furniture are now being identified and categorised into specific areas – such as mental health, dementia, and bariatric care – on a larger scale than ever before. This means that manufacturers are now better informed about buyers’ requirements, while buyers have a much better understanding of what specification is most suited to individual applications.
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