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patients unnecessarily. Carpet provides soft flooring with substantial grip, ensuring residents are more stable on their feet, increasing confidence and reducing the chance of an accident. Carpet also provides a familiar reassurance to residents, as the surroundings feel like home.


Not only can patterned flooring increase the risk of fall, but it can result in unnecessary emotional distress. Those suffering with dementia can experience spatial disorientation, limited colour perception and reduced contrast, meaning they can be unsure of what they see. Overly complicated patterns, such as florals or speckled designs, can confuse those suffering with dementia as they can appear to patients as holes. Coloured flecks within carpet could be seen as imperfections that need cleaning up and floral designs could be perceived as real flowers. This in turn, causes further unnecessary disorientation and confusion for patients.


“Carpet provides soft flooring with substantial grip, ensuring residents are more stable on their feet,


TAKING A SOFT


APPROACH


Can carpet revolutionise the care industry? CFS investigates.


For many consumers, a choice of flooring is based almost entirely on aesthetic and usually comes down to which floorcovering looks better with the chosen interior design. However, considering that there are now around 850,000 dementia sufferers in the UK, installing flooring in a care home, or hospital dedicated to the care of those with dementia, is a much more considered choice. In fact the decision can be imperative to the safety of vulnerable patients.


Many types of flooring, such as non-grip tiles and smooth hard flooring can increase the risk of slips, trips and falls, causing injury and ruining the confidence of an already vulnerable user group. It is important therefore, that those specifying flooring within care homes and hospitals take these points, as well as budgets and practicality, into consideration.


Alongside memory loss, dementia can cause visuo- perceptual difficulties and distortions of image. Combined with the natural deterioration of eyesight that occurs with age, an inconsistent floor pattern can make it difficult for patients to differentiate between floor design and objects or obstructions. If a floor is excessively shiny, alongside providing a slip risk, the surface can look wet, confusing


26 | HOSPITALS


increasing confidence and reducing the chance of an accident.”


A single stumble over a contrasting threshold strip on a coloured carpet could cause a dangerous fall, so it is beneficial to ensure all associated equipment is the same colour as the carpet. This presents the flooring as one continuous surface, reducing hazardous hesitation by patients.


There are however, some instances when a pattern or change in colour can benefit those suffering from dementia. If the floor of a property is multi-level, with a single step between the kitchen and living area for example, installing two different colours of carpet, preferably in a block colour, can help people distinguish the step, reducing the risk of a fall. Additionally, specifying a carpet that is a contrasting colour to furniture can help residents find, or avoid, objects within the room. A contrast between the wall and floor design can also reassure patients, making it clear where flooring boundaries are, reducing the risk of an accident.


In hospitals and care homes, colour differentiation between sections of the flooring can also help direct patients towards important areas, such as the bathrooms. A stressful environment, such as a hospital, can cause additional anxiety - so by marking key routes in a different colour, patients will receive much needed reassurance without being distracted en-route. A change in flooring colour can also mark areas of a ward or care home that are accessible only by staff, further increasing the safety of patients.


By specifying a dementia friendly floor, not only is the risk of accident limited, but the stress levels of dementia sufferers can be significantly reduced. We have seen an increase in both healthcare facilities and private homes adopting these methods to ensure that residents, patients and family members have the best living environment and dementia care possible.


www.cfscarpets.co.uk www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com


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