As specialist manufacturers and providers of furniture for the mental health and learning disabilities markets, Tough Furniture has recently announced the release of a unique new product for the mental health furniture market – the Anti Ligature Noticeboard (ALNB).
The ALNB is part of Tough Furniture’s long track record of developing new and innovative furniture products for secure and challenging environments. Constructed from solid 50mm Ash, the sloping top, bottom and sides mean the ALNB looks elegant on the wall, and can also contribute to lowering the ligature risk in any environment its used in, when compared to standard noticeboards.
All of the usual Tough Furniture robustness and security is built in – with dovetail reinforced mitre joints, a specially produced heavy-duty strip hinge, 6mm polycarbonate door and 9mm solid Sundeala for the pinboard backing. To increase the anti-ligature element, there’s also a complete absence of any externally visible fittings.
With its bedroom furniture offering, Tough Furniture has been building ligature risk-reduction features into their designs for some time, with the Tough Plus and Tough Ultra range being specifically aimed at mental health environments where the ligature issue is particularly important.
To increase the anti-ligature element, there’s also
a complete absence of any externally visible fittings
However, as Managing Director Nigel Reaney points out "From talking to our customers it’s clear that there is a growing awareness of the importance of reducing ligature risk in all areas of secure mental health environments – not just in individual service users’ bedrooms."
Tough has already responded to this demand with the introduction of their innovative wall mounted TV cabinet, the ALTV, which demonstrates the same combination of non-institutional elegance and practical design features to reduce ligature risk in shared spaces.
"One of the advantages for us as a company, is that as direct manufacturers we can be flexible and agile enough to respond to whatever demands our customers have – and given the nature of the environments we work in, those demands are evolving all the time.”
The move towards ligature reduction in shared spaces is just one example of the changing demands on mental health furniture providers, and with the ALNB Tough Furniture have once again demonstrated their commitment to working with health care providers to develop innovative solutions wherever they’re needed.
