Health professionals play a vital role in the type of furniture used in hospitals. In the previous years, it was a rule to have white and clinical furniture in the hospitals. This rule does not apply anymore since most hospitals have embraced change and they now use bright furniture in their wards.
They need to ensure that the furniture is comfortable enough for their patients. Most architects overlook that all the furniture to use in the hospital needs to be approved by the NHS to ensure that they are suitable and compliant. Hospitals need to contact suppliers that are NHS-approved to provide furniture for them.
Hospitals are not hotels or our living rooms where one can select any furniture that pleases them. The patient’s comfort is one of the key considerations in any hospital. No matter how beautiful a bed may be, a hospital cannot order it unless it meets the NHS standards. Read on the requirements for all NHS furniture in this article.
Requirements for all NHS Furniture
When choosing hospital furniture, the quality should be superior and long-lasting. It has to be durable to suit the demands of the patients and all forms of treatment. Here are some key requirements you ought to look at when purchasing furniture.
Safety
This is a key element to consider when selecting NHS furniture. Safety, in this case, will mean differently depending on the patients. The hospital staff needs to analyse the type of patients that visit their hospital. If the patients that frequent the hospital are elderly, then they need to have bariatric furniture.
This type of furniture will ensure that they are comfortable and safe as they use the furniture. The elderly are no longer as strong as they used to be and most of them their immune system as well as their bone structure is not strong as strong either; therefore, the waiting benches need to have hips for support when they need to get up and sit down.
The hospital needs to go for furniture with piano hinges instead of cabinet hinges. The furniture should not have movable parts, or if it must, they should select it carefully. In short, they should avoid purchasing furniture that has pinch points.
When it comes to chairs, ensure that they have armrests. These will enable patients to get up and sit down easily. Be considerate enough to select furniture that will accommodate heavy-set patients. Chairs without armrests are the best.
Durability
The furniture a hospital selects should be able to withstand constant and busy use. A hospital is always a busy place and no single day will the waiting area be empty. The frame of the furniture should preferably be made of metal. It is because metals are durable if you compare them to plastic.
Ensure that the tables and chairs you select are scratch-proof. Tables and chairs have a habit of scratching the ground and if this happens over time, it becomes a breeding place for the ground. Germs in institutions such as hospitals tend to spread faster as the patients are already vulnerable to them.
The Furniture Should be Easy to Clean
Generally, anything in the hospital will only be safe if you can clean it easily. Sanitation is key in most hospitals; therefore, when selecting furniture, consider this requirement.
Cleanliness is a vital factor because it will help reduce the rate of disease transmission from one person to another. Patients in the hospitals are already suffering from various illnesses therefore, the hospital staff should not expose them to further diseases.
The arrangement of the seats should enable the staff to easily manoeuvre and clean in between the spaces where patients sit. The clean-out space leaves no room for bacteria and dirt. Before purchasing, ensures that the furniture has a laminate finish. The laminate gives ease when cleaning. You can also be able to sanitise the furniture easily without the sanitiser soaking on it. Wood and veneer furniture is hard to sanitise.
Have a Reliable Supplier
Your supplier should offer you quality and affordable furniture for use in the hospital. Choose a supplier that is trustworthy and reliable. One that will deliver what you asked for without fail. Even though hospital furniture is costly, make quality and standard a priority for you. If the furniture is of poor quality, it will risk the lives of the patients. Your supplier should meet the standards of NHS requirements.
When choosing hospital furniture, remember that they are an essential part of the hospital. It is important for patients to feel safe and comfortable. The furniture should be functioning properly but also consider the aura of the hospital environment. Do not make it so dull because hospitals are already a sad place.
