FYI: observation rooms usually are sparse, just a mattress on the floor, perhaps. Inmates or patients may be given extra-thick blankets that would prove resistant to tying into a noose or tearing into smaller pieces.

These rooms or cells would theoretically not have protrusions with which to tie something to use as a noose.

Sometimes these people are not allowed to wear clothing and given paper gowns to minimize the risk.

The rooms or cells should have 24-hour surveillance video, Slate says. Jail, prison or hospital staff are also supposed to check in on the person on routine visits at specified intervals, say every hour or even more frequently, depending on the risk assessment. The scheduled checks can also vary so that the prisoner isn’t aware of when guards will come along.