WashPod Case Studies

An internal WashPod mobile, disabled wetroom has provided the answer to Taahira and Hammad’s dilemma. They have been caring for Hammad’s elderly mother, Anisa, for several years who has very bad osteoarthritis and is very immobile. She’s been bed-bound upstairs but has had a wetroom, hoist and carers visiting to help.

But Taahira has been increasingly concerned about her mother-in-law’s isolation stuck upstairs. When paramedics advised them, during a bad case of pneumonia, that they would be unable to resuscitate Anisa if she remained upstairs, she and her husband took the decision to apply for planning permission to extend the family home to house her downstairs.

The family is having to move out during the building works but finding a rental property with a wetroom was proving impossible. Since Covid 19 they were not prepared to use a care home for the duration either.

“I was very surprised and excited to find a disabled bathroom that would fit and be built internally” said Taahira. “WashPod’s plug ‘n play format meant that we just needed to find an ordinary rental property, closer to home so that Anisa’s carers could still come and in the same borough so the council would move all her medical equipment and hospital bed. There’s much less disruption for all of us and neither will there be any alterations to make good for the landlord.”

The family can now relocate for the duration of the building works and are happy to be able to stay together.

WASHPOD HELPS ELDERLY PARKINSON’S SUFFERER STAY AT HOME

WashPod has helped John to stay at home a little bit longer. John is an elderly man who is living with a form of Parkinson’s Disease which has left him fragile and immobile. Patricia, his wife, is trying to make the best decisions on the most appropriate care for him as he is adamant that he doesn’t want to go into a care home of any sort.

“From John’s point of view, it is simply the most horrible thought of going somewhere unfamiliar” says Patricia.

Their discovery of WashPod (the mobile, disabled, wheelchair-accessible wet-room which has been erected in just two days in a spare room downstairs) will allow John to stay at home indefinitely which has given him real reassurance.

The internal Mini WashPod from Dignity Access was the answer. “Certainly WashPod has lived up to our expectations and has made a big difference to John’s wellbeing. I think it’s fantastic and we’ve invited all our friends and family to see it” says Patricia “I know quite a few people who might benefit from something similar before too long” she adds.In an unusual turn of events, the couple moved out of an apartment in a retirement village into the modern 5 bedroom house in a village outside Newbury when it became clear that John needed a full-time, professional carer. “There wasn’t a spare room for the carer and we were on the second floor which made accessibility difficult” says Patricia.

One solution was to convert the garage into a suitable wet-room but this had to be abandoned when their builder let them down just before Christmas and they needed a more rapid solution.

Eleanor Hales, Occupational Therapist at Sherwood Therapy Services, oversaw the project. “We’re all thrilled because in only three weeks from finding the property and getting the go-ahead the Micro WashPod was installed. It is a perfect solution as it means that we didn’t have to wait for costly adaptations. Neither will we have to make good at the end of the rental period – so a double saving”.

The Micro WashPod is the smallest in the range and was assembled off-site, before being installed in under a day in a spare bedroom at the property. It is a unique solution to bathing and has been specially designed for limited spaces, fitting internally into a reception room or bedroom. It’s quick to install with a potential lead time of only 10 days and can be fitted in less than a day. It will be the answer for many people needing at-home, disabled bathing where space is at a premium and where extra room for carers, hoists and trollies may not be needed.

In early 2019, Luke was hit by a car when he was crossing the road and was seriously injured. He currently needs a wheelchair which made coming back to the family home difficult. For his mother, Annette, the options offered to her were totally unsuitable.

“Luke was trying to come to terms with his situation and the last thing he needed was to come home and have no suitable bathroom facilities” says Annette.

She discovered the WashPod from Dignity Access online and was thrilled.

“I am so pleased with our WashPod as it’s given Luke so much independence and dignity at a difficult time which has been crucial. It’s been of huge benefit to him and allowed him home without disruptive adaptations ” continues Annette.

It was a rapid installation as there was a WashPod that was becoming available and within two weeks from the first phone call, it was connected to Luke’s downstairs bedroom with a lobby for total privacy and comfort. In this instance, the unit was craned into position but both internal and external units can also be constructed from a flat-pack form and transported through the house or narrower side gates.

A local contractor assisted with the construction of a temporary lobby so that the user can be easily transferred in comfortable temperature conditions between the house and the WashPod.

It was a small house and a housing estate with extremely difficult access to the garden, so the components of the WashPod were transported through the house and erected directly in place.

A bedroom could be made for him downstairs but without suitable washing facilities, he would not have been allowed home. A shell lobby was constructed, quickly and easy for the number of months that the WashPod was needed.

The WashPod was installed in the back garden but because there was no access, the WashPod unit was carried through the house and erected directly in place.