Mrs Temple lived with her husband in a semi-detached property. She suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis, walked with a walking stick and had to take very strong pain killers. She was only able to get up and down the stairs on her bottom – in the longer term this was likely to result in arthritis in her shoulders and upper body. Her medical condition was also likely to deteriorate.
In addition, her husband had Alzheimer’s and required help with personal care, including toileting, but was otherwise physically able.
Mrs Temple asked us to help her replace her bath with a level access shower as she could no longer get into the bath. However, we felt this was not the best option; instead we recommended replacing the bath with a wet room. By removing the wall between the bathroom and toilet we created easier access to the toilet area for Mrs Temple when she assisted her husband on the toilet.
Our recommendations included the repositioning of the door to avoid entrapment if one of them were to fall next to the toilet. We also recommended the installation of a stair lift to enable Mrs T to safely use the stairs.
As occupational therapists we were able to ensure the highest quality accessible design taking into account all members of the family.