Our hospital received a supplemental recommendation for EC.1.10 in our psychiatric unit. The reference was to the potential for hanging oneself from grab bars and ceilings. The bathrooms have hard ceilings, but the patient rooms do not. I see that there is a requirement in the 2001 AIA Guidelines for Design and Construction for tamper resistant ceilings. Would clips of the tiles suffice? Also, no mention is made of grab bars.
Joint Commission standards do not specify exactly what steps should be taken in this regard. Organizations should perform a risk assessment. You should first look at the patient population served, review any past attempted suicides and by what method, and then take the most appropriate actions possible to prevent or limit this occurrence from happening again.
Clipping down suspended ceiling tiles would certainly thwart an initial attempt in using the ceiling grid to tie on to. Grab bars are another matter. They are needed to assist patients, especially the elderly, physically impaired, or infirm, in toilet and bathing locations. There are few or perhaps no choices available in obtaining a grab bar designed in such a way that something cannot be wrapped around it and used in an attempted hanging. There are showerhead and curtain rods that have a “break away” feature that causes them to break or pull away from the wall or wherever they are anchored when a designated amount of weight is applied. However, there is the potential for a patient to purposely dislocate or remove a rod or grab bar and use it as a weapon. Again, this takes us back to your risk assessment, evaluating the patient population served, and applying reasonable judgment as to what steps to take and where to apply the necessary safeguards.
From EC News April 2004
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