The therapeutic setting needing tailored furniture

Research indicates a significant rise in the prevalence of eating disorders in recent years, with severe consequences for individuals and society as a whole. The NHS reports that hospital admissions for eating disorders in England alone reached over 24,000 in 2020-2021, marking an 84% increase over the past five years.

As a specialist supplier of fitted furniture systems to the NHS, the rising number of mental health issues — including eating disorders — is a trend that is presenting a growing number of new challenges for companies like ours. We have seen a corresponding growing need for furniture with reduced ligature properties to help prevent attempts at suicide and self-harm. There is also more emphasis on the importance of incorporating unbreakable polycarbonate mirrors and reduced ligature hooks, with magnets or adhesive fixings, for the safety and wellbeing of service-users.

This modern approach to good, effective, and safe mental healthcare by the NHS is vividly illustrated with a major new project, the Kimmeridge Court eating disorders unit operated by Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, in Poole Dorset. Nestled within a serene, wooded glade, the building stands as a sanctuary designed to harmonise with its natural surroundings, providing a secluded and therapeutic retreat for individuals seeking specialised treatment for eating disorders. Designed by Medical Architecture and built by Kier, the £8 m inpatient unit at St Ann's Hospital has been meticulously tailored to meet the escalating demand for such services. It includes a range of bespoke specialist furniture units from David Bailey Furniture, which were specially developed to meet the needs of the vulnerable inpatients.