Local authority stops clients ‘hanging around’
Flintshire Council is delivering ‘supportive and caring’ help to residents, with new levels of dignity in one of its residential homes, achieved through use of state-of-the-art toileting technology.
Croes Atti Residential Home cares for up to 31 older people, of whom several require use of a hoist to move around. Home Manager Debbie Shearsmith has, with the backing of the Council, implemented an innovative approach to ensure they still retain optimum dignity when going to the toilet- she has had two Closomat Palma Vita wash & dry toilets installed in the bathrooms.
Looking like- and capable of being used as conventional WCs- the Palma Vitas have built-in douching and drying, which is triggered in conjunction with the flush. Users just remain sat on the toilet whilst their bottom is consistently and efficiently cleaned and dried.
“If a client needs to make use of the hoist, it isn’t very dignified for them being raised in the air whilst staff assist to keep them clean. This whole process is completely removed with the Closomat,” explained Debbie. “It’s nicer and easier for everybody- the person using it, and staff. I knew of Closomats from a previous care home; I’ve been keen to have them installed here; the Council recognised the benefits and provided the funding.”
And Debbie’s logic has been independently endorsed: according to the Care & Social Services Inspectorate for Wales’ latest report on the home, Croes Atti delivers help with personal care (including toileting) in a ‘supportive & caring way’.
Closomat wash & dry toilets ensure the user is properly and consistently clean whenever they go to the toilet, and remove the need for the user to wipe- or be wiped- afterwards. They therefore benefit user health, hygiene, dignity, independence, privacy and wellbeing. Manufactured in Britain, Closomats are the brand leader in wash & dry toilets, with many still in daily use up to 30 years after first being installed- equating to a daily cost of just 25p!
Observes Robin Tuffley, Closomat marketing manager, “When you set that against the savings in staff time having to wipe someone clean, let alone sundries such as toilet tissue, laundry if they’re not cleaned properly so their clothing gets soiled, the cost is recouped the first time just one person uses it! And how do you put a cost on someone’s hygiene, health, feeling of dignity? Would you like someone wiping YOUR bottom..?”
Unlike any other toilet of its kind, the Palma Vita can be fitted at any stage with accessories to enable the user to continue to benefit despite changes in their needs. Over 120,000 permutations exist, including several operating options, to accommodate user or carer control.
Closomat is the UK’s leading supplier of toileting technology for disabled and elderly people. In addition to the brand-leading Palma Vita wash & dry toilet, it provides a selection of personal care ancillaries- toilet lifters, height adjustable washbasins, hoists, changing benches and body driers.
Founded 60 years ago, and still family-owned, the company is unique in its provision, in-house, of design advice, supply, installation, commissioning and after-sales service & maintenance. Click for more details of the Closomat’s assistive toilet care offerings, plus further case studies from real-life users.
