It will result in 33 safety and close observation cells being installed in ten jails. Already, 20 of the cells have been built.

The expansion of the scheme was announced yesterday by Justice Minister Michael McDowell during a visit to Cloverhill jail in west Dublin to inspect the new cells in operation there.

Since his first visit to Mountjoy jail, shortly after being appointed, the minister has prioritised the replacement of the old padded cells. He said yesterday: “I was shocked at the conditions in which people were being detained and expressed my determination to eliminate them.

“When I first saw a prisoner in one of the old cells in Mountjoy, he was lying on the floor in his underpants in dark conditions.

Humane

“These new facilities are humane, hygienic and meet with international best practice,” he added.

He said safety cells were, unfortunately, a necessary part of the prison system to stop people hurting themselves but the emphasis now was on creating an atmosphere that helped them. A pilot project began in Cloverhill in August last year and an initial analysis showed that prisoners were held in the new cells on average for 1.7 days.

The new layout is aimed at helping to distract prisoners and avoids boredom and banging on doors. The occupants can watch what is happening outside while staff can use the glass doors for regular face to face contact with the prisoners.

The minister described one of the old cells in Mountjoy as equivalent to “an oversized telephone kiosk”.
The minister also said he was concerned about the high number of people with mental illnesses who were being sent to prison rather than psychiatric hospitals.

Outdated
Mr McDowell said he was in consultation with Tanaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney about replacing outdated legal provisions with new legislation. Six of the new cells are provided in Cloverhill, four in the Midlands jail in Portlaoise, four in Wheatfield, three in Limerick, two in Cork, and two in Castlerea and one in Arbour Hill.

Eleven other cells are being installed on a temporary basis for the next three years, pending the completion of the new jails campus in Thornton in north county Dublin and consequent developments.

What areas are suitable for Gold Medal:

In response to a frequently asked question below are some of the key areas where Gold Medal Safety Padding can be installed.

One of the main factors in establishing the suitability of this product is the terminoligy used to describe an environment where the Gold Medal product is appropriate, terminology of this type of room varies dramatically from country to country and even region to region.
The terms we are most used to using are Seclusion Room,  Safety observation areas, close supervision rooms.
If we use a term or a method of describing an area that you are uncomfortable with please do not be offended as we do work in many countries and as such we encounter many different terms for the same facility.

Seclusion Room
This is the most common term we encounter and as such the most common description we use.

Other terms are;
Safety Observation Rooms
Close Supervision Areas / Rooms
Time-Out Rooms (this term predominantly relates to adolescent facilities and special schools)
Restraint Rooms
Safe Custody Suites
Detox Suites (predominately relates to Police Custody Areas)
De-Escallation rooms
Emergeny rooms

Padded Surfaces.
The Gold Medal Product can be applied in such a manner to pad all surfaces such as;
                     Walls                    
                     Floors
                     Doors
                     Beds
                     Seating / Benches
                     Privicy walls

                   
Padded Cells.
This is an obsolete term in our area of the world and as such we do not recognise it.

If you should be a health-care professional involved in mental health, facilities management, work in Police Custody areas or correctional facilities please feel free to comment on this post.

Focus on the UK

Fitness Functions has now completed several installations of the Gold Medal product in the UK.

The success Fitness Functions Ltd has experienced with the Gold Medal product in various sectors in Ireland has given us a great platform to work from in approaching the UK market – our success in Ireland did however keep us flat out ‘working on our own patch’.
We have recently completed several installation in the UK and are looking forward to a long term relationship with these customers.

Recently Gold Medal Safety Padding has been specified by a body for multiple installations in the UK as a result of dealing with architects and Q.S’s for a significant period of time. This is great news for us as the exposure from this upcoming project, once completed, will bring the benefits of Gold Medal Safety Padding to health-care workers, hospital and secure facility managers on a much wider scale.
With great interest in Gold Medal Safety Pading from areas further-a-field we will be sure to update the news that we receive on our site.
We would greatly recive any input, comments, thoughts etc from staff and managers working in acute, secure or custodial environments.

Website Launched May 2009.

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new website.
We have given the layout, design and flexibility of our site a great deal of thought and as such it is now easier to contact us, get information on the Gold Medal product and for you to post us a message and ask any questions relating to the Gold Medal Product.

If you are an Architect, Planner, Facilities / Estates Manager, work in a Secure, Psychiatric or Custody environment please feel free to send us an email or make a post with any questions you may have and we will ensure that the best advice possible for your situation is provided to you.   

Please let us know if there are any topics within this field, or relevant areas that you would wish us to discuss further.

We look forward to hearing from you

Regards

Phil Kirkland
Director
Gold Medal Safety Padding
Fitness Functions Ltd