Airflow & Calm: Giving Residents Safe Control Over Their Space

Creating Safer Spaces Without Closing Off Comfort

In high-risk environments like mental health settings, one of the most common dilemmas faced by estates teams is how to deliver safety and control in equal measure. While the primary goal is to prevent harm and reduce risk, there's also a duty to preserve comfort, dignity, and autonomy, particularly when it comes to essentials like ventilation.

Poor airflow can contribute to discomfort, restlessness, and reduced wellbeing. But conventional ventilation options, such as open windows, come with obvious risks in secure environments. That’s why Contour’s window protectors are now available with a dial-operated ventilation grille: a solution that enables fresh air flow without compromising safety.

Why Ventilation Matters in Secure Environments

Natural airflow isn’t just about comfort; it’s a basic environmental need. In enclosed rooms, stale air and a lack of ventilation can quickly lead to issues like:

• Increased humidity and condensation
• Stuffiness and odours
• Rising temperatures
• Reduced mental clarity or agitation in some individuals

When windows must remain closed for safety reasons, the result can be an uncomfortable, oppressive atmosphere, which is counterproductive to both care and recovery.

The Challenge: Risk vs. Comfort

Traditionally, managing airflow in secure settings means relying on mechanical systems or occasional supervised window openings. But neither of these offers individuals any sense of control. This lack of autonomy can lead to increased distress or disruptive behaviours, especially where temperature, personal space, and sensory comfort are already sensitive issues.

Service users need to feel safe but also respected, and this includes having influence over their immediate surroundings where possible.

A Safer Way to Support Airflow

The optional controllable ventilation grille in Contour’s window protector range gives a practical solution to a complex problem. It works by:

• Allowing the external window to remain partially open, even in higher-risk environments
• Featuring an internal anti-ligature dial that lets residents or staff regulate the volume of airflow into the room
• Remaining fully tamper-resistant and secure, with no exposed parts or sharp edges

Importantly, the vent mechanism does not affect the existing window or glazing. The window protector forms a sealed, robust barrier between the resident and the original window, while the dial provides an adjustable intake point for controlled airflow.

Supporting Comfort, Safety & Autonomy

By giving residents more influence over the room environment, especially on warm days or in stuffy spaces, this feature can help:

• Promote calmness and reduce agitation
• Improve sensory comfort for individuals with heightened environmental sensitivity
• Support flexible care in mixed-use or step-down units
• Relieve staff pressure, as minor adjustments can be made by the resident themselves

This can be particularly valuable in settings where staffing levels are tight, or where service users are working towards greater independence as part of their recovery plan.

Designed for Real Environments

This isn’t a generic solution added as an afterthought. The optional vent system has been developed in response to direct feedback from healthcare professionals and estates teams working across secure units, CAMHS, and step-down facilities.

It’s been tested using real-world scenarios to ensure it offers the same standard of tamper resistance as the rest of the Contour window protector range.

A Flexible Solution for Safer Spaces

Not every room will need this option, but for rooms that regularly become hot, humid or enclosed, or where the behaviour of individual residents varies throughout the day, the vent feature can offer a simple yet powerful upgrade.

It gives facilities a flexible way to support comfort and air circulation, while still meeting critical safety standards and safeguarding the wellbeing of all occupants.

Discover the Vent That Changes Everything

Whether you're planning a new build or adapting an existing space, the option to control airflow safely could make all the difference. Explore Contour’s anti-ligature window protectors and discover how a small detail can offer big benefits.

🔗 View the full product range

If you’d like to learn more about our anti-ligature window protector or see how the optional vent feature could support your environment, we’re here to help.

📞 Call us on 01952 290498
📧 Email sales@contourheating.co.uk