Seen in Healthcare Design June 25 - An article on improvements in hospital bathroom design.
A photo chosen to go with the article was a great disappointment from a patient's point of view.
Vanity: sharp handles at thigh height
There ARE sharp corners
A slimline basin would allow patient see in the mirror without glasses, for face washing or flossing Mirror should extend down to basin level, so a patient can see her own scar or whatever
No caddy for hair dryer or other items for patient who cannot bend
Needs hand rests or arm rests for patients on toilet or to help stand after toilet
There are grab bars for only one hand
(I made things more useful than this for myself in the rehab unit bathroom - pulling a "potty chair next to toilet, not only for an arm rest, but because it is healthier to push down on something to help get up than to pull down on something.)
Bathing:
Nothing to hold onto en route to shower
No seat visible in shower within reach of telephone/hand shower
NO place for towels near the shower
No apparent depression to drain water and avoid slipping and soaking slippers
And please don't say the hospital has a portable bath seat for every bathroom - never happens.
Also, I don't see anything here about warm and cool bathroom temperature, and especially fresh air, which was scarily absent in rehab and a couple other hospitals.
It can be better than this. And it should be better.
No comments:
Post a Comment