I was thrilled to be asked to contribute to the OT Magazine recently with an article on a bath I designed for the less able. The following is the article as it appeared in the May-June edition 2017.
Using task analysis for product design
Category: Elderly
Bath design for the less able and elderly
This is the new Concept Freedom bath I designed with the team at Ideal Standard . As life goes on, everybody will, at some point, need to make changes to the way they live. Mobility is something that can affect us at any age, whether it be back problems, injuries or generally needing a little extra support.
Adapting living spaces for the elderly and dying
Our MD, Anava Baruch, was interviewed by Sunday Times writer Cally Law who was looking for experts in housing occupational therapy. We were very excited and honoured to be featured in the paper on Sunday for such an important and increasingly relevant issue. Because we specialise in the adaptation of living spaces for the less able, we were able to give Cally an insight into the difficulties families and their ageing relatives can face and how we, as experts in this area, can help with the adaptations and changes that need to made.
Occupational therapy advice on home safety
Access & Stairs
- Two banister rails are better than one.
- Ensure your hands aren’t full when you are using the stairs, hold on to the banister rails at all times.
- If you need to get things from one floor to another use carrier bags or back packs when possible.
- Plan ahead and try to minimise the use of the stairs. If you use certain items frequently, such as a hairbrush or reading glasses, have two of the same, one on each floor.
- Avoid leaving objects on the stairs as you might trip on them.
- If the bathroom is upstairs next to your bedroom, bathe/ shower before you go downstairs in the morning or just before you go to bed at night.
- If you need to use the toilet very frequently and you have only one in your property, check with your GP if your medication can be adjusted in any way to reduce the frequency of use or consider using a commode.