Dudley & Walsall Mental Health Trust implement Wybone Mental Health Bins

24 Apr 2018

We’re pleased to announce our recent implementation of Mental Health Bins at the Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. We’ve worked with the trust for many years, providing our range of Capsule, Metal and Hybrid sackholders to be used across the three hospitals that sit under the trust.

We spoke with Helen McVerry, the Acting Facilities Manager about her requirements and what prompted the trust to implement the new Mental Health Sackholders.

Helen explained, “We previously had a range of standard Wybone sackholders in place in various sizes however, due to the government warning (CAS) regarding the use of plastic bags in mental health areas, we decided we needed to look for another solution.”

“Unfortunately we had also faced several near misses with patients using plastic bags to self-harm, so safety and security for everyone was our first priority.”

Working together with the Mental Health Partnership, we made minor amendments to our Mental Health Bins to accommodate the requirements of the trust. Through our vast experience in providing mental health bins, we have found that many trusts have differing requirements when it comes to their waste bins and we make every effort to incorporate all of these requirements into our designs. Wherever possible we will also work with our customers to implement changes to satisfy their individual safety and security needs.

The Wybone Mental Health Sackholder comes with a range of standard features that have been put together using valuable consultation with medical and mental health professionals. These include:

Foot pedal-chute operationFront opening door access, secured by one or two locks (depending on bin size)An enclosed back with completely secure fixingsGalvanised steel manufacture and a hybrid design to include an ABS plastic base unitFire safety code HTM0503 conformityWaste segregation coloursEncapsulated pedalButterfly sack retention systemWorking together with Helen and her team, we made slight alterations to the units, which will now be standardised across the Wybone range for all Mental Health Trusts. Helen commented, “Wybone ensured that any ligature risks were removed and the foot pedal was completely enclosed.”

The Wybone design team made improvements to the back of the units, minimising four separate components to just one completely metal back, hiding the steel rod and hinges to ensure the moving parts were totally contained. The design of the unit was tweaked slightly, to allow the components of the bin to be accessed for maintenance reasons, meaning that if any parts need to be changed or cleaned, they can be accessed when the bin is unlocked.

This has resulted in a more contained and solid design with fewer components. The unit is also very easy to clean with no possibilities for harbouring harmful bacteria. Any gaps between the metal components of the bin have been kept to an absolute minimum and the length of the chute has been extended to ensure even the smallest of hands cannot get in to access the bag or its contents.

Over 400 Mental Health Bins have been placed throughout the hospitals. Helen adds “We ordered a range of sizes for use in patient areas, bedrooms and non-patient areas.”

Due to the front opening nature of the Mental Health Bins, Wybone offers a 42 litre and 80 litre capacity unit, ideal for placing in patient areas including bedrooms, communal rooms and treatment rooms. We also have a newly designed 28 litre unit, which is ideal for those smaller areas and does not feature a front opening door.

We’re really pleased that Helen was able to report, “Since the mental health bins have been in place, we have had absolutely no incidents at all.”

As always, we’ll continue to work with our customer feedback to provide the safest and securest waste units that we can. One final word from Helen leaves us feeling happy, if not blushing a little; “The Sales Manager – Emma Morris – had to change our quotation on several occasions due to various stakeholders changing their minds. She was a real gem and helped us out with specific delivery dates and changes due to the adverse weather.”

If you would like to see a sample of our Mental Health Bin, you can contact us on 01226 352333 or email us at [email protected].