Reducing the indignity of physical restraint

Identifying a lack of purpose-designed products, we at Pineapple Contracts worked closely with Andy Johnston, an experienced independent mental health consultant, to ensure that every angle of the JAK De-escalation couch was carefully considered to enable respectful methods of restraint while providing invaluable support for staff. Ellern Mede Specialist Eating Disorder Services, which is widely regarded as the UK’s most specialist provider of intensive inpatient and outpatient treatment for children, adolescents, and young adults, was consulted during the design of a version of the couch aimed at making the challenging, but sometimes unavoidable, process of naso-gastric intubation safer, and minimising the counter-therapeutic impact of the procedure. 

Andy Johnston is a former clinical director in mental healthcare, and an independent mental health consultant, with over 32 years’ experience in mental health services, including in conflict resolution and physical intervention. His team of mental health professionals collaborated in designing the JAK Deescalation couch, and tested prototypes throughout the design process, using role-play scenarios to test the ergonomic design over extended periods of high
intensity restraint. With the help, expertise, and input of Ellern Mede Specialist Eating Disorder Services, the NG-feeding couch was developed to provide a safe and stable environment for patients undergoing naso-gastric intubation.

Physical restraint