Thornford Park Hospital is a large mental health complex in Berkshire UK, built on a former military airbase. With 140 beds covering psychiatric and forensic mental health needs, it has a mix of low and medium secure units, and houses some of the most challenging service user groups.
We were approached for a solution to the ensuite doors, where their fixed hinge doors with a sloping top were a known ligature risk. Following installation of doors in safer rooms across the site, and the PICU units, they have included the Softdoor as their standard specification for the ensuite door.
In mental healthcare one of the biggest areas of risks within patient bedrooms is the bathroom door and it's hinges. It was great when we discovered softdoor, it reduced ligature risks in this area to a minimum, whilst till being able to maintain privacy and dignity. We liked the ease at which they could be installed, the simplicity of design. We loved the fact you could use an image on the door, it helped brighten up the room. We started installing them in our higher secure wards, however have started rolling them out across the whole site as they seem to suit all environments. I would highly recommend them for any environment, they are durable but with a soft touch.
