Care home’s five-star toileting solution to achieving resident dignity and independence

A five-star rated care home is adopting an innovative approach to enabling its residents to retain their dignity and independence through installing a range of accessible toilets.

Rough Lee Care Home in Lancashire caters for people with disabilities who need 24-hour support. Its ethos is to encourage independence and choice wherever possible. It promotes ease of movement around its premises and grounds, and is optimising its use of assistive technology.

It has had a Closomat Palma Vita wash/dry shower toilet installed in one of its ensuite wet rooms, bringing the total number of Closomat facilities that the home has to five: three in appropriate ensuites – personalised to individual resident’s needs – and one in each of the communal bathrooms on each of the home’s two corridors. More are planned.

Looking like, and capable of being used as, a conventional toilet, the Palma Vita has integrated washing and drying functions, removing the need for users to wipe, or be wiped, clean.

“I’m surprised more care homes don’t have them,” commented Rough Lee Care Home Manager Andrea Buckley. “We are in the process of an ongoing upgrade of the 17 bedrooms; we’d like to fit Closomats in every en-suite where the residents can use them.

“It’s about dignity and independence, so, where appropriate, residents can ‘go’ without staff support. Most of the residents use the ones in the communal bathrooms: they like that the WC washes and dries them, they feel clean, without having to rely on our staff.”

Among the existing Closomat toilets, Rough Lee has specified additional accessories where required: one accessible toilet features integrated fold-away arms to give the resident enhanced leverage and support if needed.

The Palma Vita is unique in this ability to accessorise to accommodate individual needs, be it initially or retrospectively. Options include supports, seats, operating devices, and height adjustability.