Bathrooms
or work-from-home schemes, care staff have faced relentless and difficult situations often resulting in low personal mental and physical health. The challenges arising from the pandemic have added to existing pressures already experienced by care home staff.
According to 2019-20 data published by the Health and Safety Executive derived from largely outside the pandemic, work- related ill health in the human health and social work industries was ‘statistically significantly higher than that for workers across all industries.’ Fifty per cent was attributed to stress, depression and anxiety, and a third to musculoskeletal disorders.
Benefits of bathing equipment for care staff It is widely recognised that employees in the care sector, without access to specialist assistive equipment that underpins moving and handling best practices, are at higher risk of back and musculoskeletal injuries. Supporting clients physically to move around safely is a large part of a carer’s role, with many care home residents requiring assistance for bathing, dressing and other tasks involving moving and handling. Now consider that, according to the aforementioned Skills for Care report, the average age for a worker in a care home with nursing is 44, and that musculoskeletal problems frequently become more common from our 30s and 40s onwards. Ultimately, it is not difficult to understand how - with reduced staffing capacity - back pain and inability to work may arise without the right equipment in place, such as a specialist bath and bather transfer chair, to support single-handed
care practices. Without appropriate assistive equipment, the bathing experience can be an emotionally negative and physically challenging experience for both resident and carer, which detrimentally might lead to baths not being used at all.
Safe processes
In the long-term care sector, the need for safe bathroom processes is essential. An ageing UK population is widely documented and conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, arthritis and dementia that lead to limitations in physical and cognitive functioning, mean many care home and hospital residents are at high risk of falling. In fact, it is estimated that care home residents are three times more likely to fall than people living at home. Muscle weakness, reduced stability and eyesight changes play a part in higher risk of falls especially within badly designed and ill-
equipped bathrooms. Slippery and uneven floor surfaces, toilets at the incorrect height, insufficient lighting, lack of safely secured handrails and ill-maintained transfer equipment such as wheelchairs and hoists, are just some of the risk factors. To ensure fall reduction and enablement
of safe moving and handling for dependent service users, care homes and acute care facilities are therefore increasingly seeking to replace outdated and conventional bath and shower rooms with suitably adapted wet rooms and accessible bathing facilities. The provision of an accessible well-designed bathroom, with specialist power-assisted baths, can provide many benefits especially in circumstances where care team numbers are under pressure.
Specialist equipment Specialist anti-slip flooring, lighting for dementia clients, antimicrobial tiling grout for enhanced hygiene control, through to specialist bather transfer chairs and hoists are just some of the adapted bathroom solutions available to support a more efficient care process. Proven powered baths with height- adjustment functionality can provide ease- of-use with greater control and support for single-handed care practices. Furthermore, efficient assisted transfers in and out of the bath can be assured without the need for manual lifting of disabled bathers and subsequent loss of dignity. There are a range of specialist bath designs available, which promote efficienct and effective care, and which include features such as variable height adjustment, bather transfer seats, reclining functionality and specialist sensory
January 2022
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