Overview and introduction
Welcome to the Closomat Disabilities & Conditions Guide.
A refreshed, practical reference guide designed specifically for the Occupational Therapy (OT) community supporting people with toileting and personal care needs.
This guide has been created to help quickly translate physical disabilities and long-term health conditions into clear person-centred bathroom recommendations, with a focus on improving independence, dignity, comfort, safety and confidence around toileting.
What this guide is for
Across all disabilities and conditions, the most important starting point is the individual’s functional ability, their daily routine and what matters most to them. Toileting is one of the most private activities of daily living and even small barriers can have a major impact on:
Confidence and emotional wellbeing
Safety and falls risk
Continence outcomes and skin integrity
Carer burden and time demands
Fatigue levels and ability to sustain routines
Participation in daily life (work, education, social activities)
This guide supports your clinical reasoning by outlining, for each disability and long-term condition:
- What functional toilet challenges to expect.
- How these challenges can impact the individual.
- Which Closomat features and benefits to consider for each condition or disability and why.
- Functional Requirement Levels guidance on what to specify first to meet essential, recommended and enhanced needs.
- Sample specification wording to use within your own applications and reports.
- Final checks to consider before confirming your specification, especially around space and clearances, reach and usability and access to electrics and water.
An individual-centred approach to achieving the right outcome
This guide supports your clinical reasoning by outlining, for each disability and long-term condition:
- What functional toilet challenges to expect.
- How these challenges can impact the individual.
- Which Closomat features and benefits to consider for each condition or disability and why.
- Functional Requirement Levels guidance on what to specify first to meet essential, recommended and enhanced needs.
- Sample specification wording to use within your own applications and reports.
- Final checks to consider before confirming your specification, especially around space and clearances, reach and usability and access to electrics and water.
Toileting challenges, like most occupations, are rarely defined by diagnosis alone. They are shaped by function, routine, environment and individual need which is identified through activity analysis. I’ve acted as editor for this guide to ensure the condition summaries, expected impacts and specification guidance reflect what we see in practice across homes and supported living and can be confidently applied in practice.
Adam Ferry, Director of The Occupational Therapy Service
Summary for Occupational Therapists
Different disabilities and health conditions can create unique toileting challenges that affect hygiene, safety and independence. By considering how physical, neurological, cognitive and progressive conditions influence toileting ability, Occupational Therapists can make more informed decisions about when a wash and dry toilet may be appropriate.
Condition-led assessment helps ensure recommendations support functional outcomes, reduce care needs and maximise independence over the longer term.
