Healthcare
Care Homes and Dementia Care
A dementia-friendly bathroom includes some simple design features that can help people with dementia carry out every-day tasks, improving their safety and preserving their independence.
Creating dementia-friendly bathrooms in accommodation for the elderly is increasingly important as our aging population grows, and Dementia becomes much more prevalent in our society. The bathroom can be one of the most challenging and confusing places for a person with dementia and what was once a comfortable and familiar environment, can be come frightening and cause upset, frustration and a reluctance to use the bathroom.
Therefore, implementing some key design features to promote safety and familiarity can make this a comfortable space and create more of a pleasant experience.
Toilets and Basins
- People with dementia are twice as likely to fall as others in their age group and so it is important to avoid sharp edges on any product in the bathroom. Our specially designed vanity units with curved edges combat this issue and avoids sharp corners that can cause injury.
- A solid grade laminate base vanity unit not only hides pipework preventing scalding, but is also extremely robust and built to withstand extreme use in challenging environments.
- A contrasting solid surface top ensures an easy to clean product and one that is aesthetically pleasing and homely.
- A white basin moulded into a solid surface top ensures no sharp corners and no silicone sealant joints to harbour mould or bacteria.
- A back-to-wall (BTW) toilet pan can sit flush against the vanity unit panel, offering a hygienic and easy-to-clean solution with the cistern and pipework hidden in the unit. Add a contrasting colour toilet seat so that the user can easily locate it.
- Choosing familiar looking, traditional tap controls and toilet flush levels can also make someone with dementia feel more comfortable rather than installing sensor-operated, modern devices. These can be ‘cross-headtaps or lever operated for those with limited dexterity.
- Flood-proof plugs, like Magiplugs, that pop-up if the basin overfills are a good preventative measure in case short term memory loss means the user forgets to turn the taps off.
- Ensure enough space to accommodate a toothbrush mug, toothpaste and other familiar bathroom items.
Flooring
- Ensuring that the floor is a single colour can stop a person with dementia assuming that a change in colour means a step up or a step down.
- Dark flooring can also be perceived as a hole making the user reluctant to step into the bathroom, therefore a light colour with no fleck is ideal for this environment. Non-slip safety flooring is recommended as the safest solution and can also reduce the need for bath mats that can be a trip-hazard.
Other
- Using open shelves to display products and cue personal hygiene tasks are a great alternative to cupboards where items are not always easily found and where open doors can cause head injury.
- In some cases, mirrors should be capable of being covered as for some people with dementia, the reflection of their own face can frighten them as they may not recognise themselves or believe another person is in the bathroom with them. Our shelf/mirror unit allows the mirror to be covered with sliding doors and hidden locks.
- White tiles can be seen as being clinical and not homely. Add accent colours or choose wall panels as a popular way to replace tiles and decorated walls with a hard wearing and waterproof surface that’s hygienic and easy to clean.
Health Centres
We provide innovative, safe, secure and hygienic products to the healthcare sector with a focus on delivering environments that bring hope, comfort and therapeutic outcomes to those who use them. Our vision is to create spaces where service users can feel safe and comfortable and where healthcare providers can deliver the best possible care with maximum ease and efficiency.
Our experience in the healthcare sector allows us to provide expertise in product design and layout, minimise costs and create an environment that tailors to specific needs.
Aaztec offers a full design service to ensure every washroom component and bedroom piece fits the service user’s needs in terms of look, feel, materials and durability. We can also advise on DDA compliance for user enablement including partial sighted and dementia care. We can guide you with surface finishes and fittings to complement and enhance any design or colour scheme.
The high-tech manufacturing capabilities at our factory enable Aaztec to produce any volume of product, from a highly bespoke ‘one off’ piece, to large quantities for high footfall areas such as hospitals. Every item we produce has our quality guarantee for complete customer satisfaction.
Aaztec can supply, or professionally install to suit your individual requirements. Our accreditations and expertise enable us to act as a subcontractor to construction companies, architects and designers. We can deliver supply only products for contractors to install or manage complete installation or refurbishment projects from start to finish. Our installation teams are highly skilled, experienced and committed, not only to ensuring that your washroom products and furniture are fitted just right but also that you are entirely satisfied.
Aaztec is a strategic partner trusted by construction professionals, facility managers and business owners to deliver excellent service and value throughout every stage of a project.
Mental Health and Secure Furniture
Our increasing range of safe FURNITURE and products for secure healthcare environments provide innovative tough furniture solutions, our knowledge and expertise in the production of furniture has made us a key contender in the manufacture of safe and secure, anti-ligature furniture for use in Hospitals and Mental Health Trusts.
We provide products that you can trust including beds, desks, chairs, cabinets and wardrobes with a focus on delivering familiar and therapeutic bedrooms where service users can feel safe and comfortable. We can create a secure environment but one that aids recovery and is pleasant to be in.
Our secure furniture has high quality features that minimise the most obvious ligature and security risks while still retaining a homely feel.
Our vast expertise in the production of custody furniture has made us a key contender in the manufacture of safe and secure, anti-ligature, custodial furniture for use in Prisons, Police Custody, Young Offender Institutions, Immigration Centres, Hospitals and Mental Health Trusts.