Partnership
Testing products
for informed choices
Until now there has been no formal process across the NHS or private sector for reliably testing or assessing products’ suitability for use in mental health environments.
This means that clinicians have had to rely on manufacturers claims – or take the responsibility of testing themselves.
To solve this problem, DIMHN has partnered with Building Research Establishment (BRE) and worked with over 100 experts from the field during the past 7 years to create a global testing method for all products used in mental health.
This is not a pass or fail test. It’s a way to grade products for their suitability for a range of different clinical uses so that teams can make INFORMED CHOICES.
INFORMED CHOICES ON THE BRE WEBSITE
INFORMED CHOICES - THE NEW TESTING STANDARD FOR SAFETY
NATIONAL SAFETY STEERING GROUP (NSSG)
Driving Safer Products and Environments in Mental Health Settings
What is the NSSG?
The National Safety Steering Group provides expert oversight to the DiMHN and BRE Informed Choices product assessment scheme. It ensures testing reflects real-world challenges by drawing on NHS safety alerts, incident reports, and frontline insights.
Why does it matter?
The environment and the products in use have a profound impact on patient and staff safety in mental health settings. The NSSG ensures that Informed Choices remains grounded, relevant, and trusted, supporting better-informed procurement and design decisions.
What’s involved?
Members of the NSSG:
- Contribute safety, clinical, operational, or lived experience insights.
- Review and inform BRE’s Informed Choices testing methodology.
- Highlight and interpret safety alerts and national learning (e.g. EFA/CAS, PSIRF, Ombudsman reports).
- Attend quarterly meetings with occasional additional engagement.
Who should join?
We welcome diverse voices from across the mental health landscape:
- Experts by experience (patients and carers).
- Patient safety and clinical risk leads.
- Operational and clinical directors.
- Estates and capital project managers.
- Frontline clinicians.
- Product testing and technical specialists.
What’s the value of participating?
- Collaborate across disciplines to refine safety standards.
- Shape testing that reflects real-world risks.
- Help create safer, more therapeutic environments.
Interested in joining?
Speak to the BRE or DiMHN team at the conference, or email:
Charlotte Burrows: c.burrows@dimhn.org
BRE Team: ProMHS@bregroup.com
FOUNDING MEMBERS of INFORMED CHOICES
The new standard is being adopted by forward-thinking firms, practitioners and founder members. We are adding to the number of commissioning bodies that are taking the Infomed Choices pledge.
Download a copy of the pledge. If you would like support in advocating for your company to sign, please email us.
We have also developed an information pack with a template board paper for organisations that sign the pledge, to ensure it is effectively implemented.
The following organisations are pledged to adopt and we are working hard to build a consensus across the mental health community that will see many more join us.
INFORMED CHOICES PLEDGE
We will ask suppliers to provide DIMHN/BRE Informed Choices product performance assessment going forward. Initially this will be encouraged, with preferential consideration given for products backed by independent performance assessment.
No minimum performance will be required, but performance of different products will be compared.
We commit to trialling the new standard with the intent that this will become a mandatory requirement for supply to our organisation by 2025, to allow time for all suppliers to test their products.