Lewis Gopsill on 07708 173397 or 01342 410 242 lg@dignityaccess.co.uk

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 suffers badly from 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.

A WHEELCHAIR USER IN LEICESTERSHIRE BENEFITED FROM THE RAPID AND COST-EFFECTIVE INSTALLATION OF A MICRO WASHPOD, MOBILE, DISABLED WETROOM WHEN THEY MOVED INTO NEW RENTAL ACCOMMODATION TODAY. AND THE OT WAS REALLY HAPPY.

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.

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.

WASHPOD ‘IS A LIFE CHANGER’ FOR SHEFFIELD MUM

Jessica, a mother from Sheffield, has called her new WashPod disabled wetroom, ‘a life changer’ for her and her little daughter, Isabella. The internal WashPod was installed into the family’s garage in just a day recently, but it will allow them to stay in their rental home just as long as they want while they build a new home that’s adapted to Isabella’s growing needs.

Isabella is now 5 years old but severely brain-damaged, blind and has cerebral palsy. She has been non-mobile from birth, relies on a wheelchair and care for all her needs.

“It had come to the point when carrying her up and downstairs was beginning to get dangerous so something had to change” says Jessica. “I heard about WashPod from another family and was able to get funding for it which means that we can keep Isabella on the ground floor which is safer and more manageable”.

“The property is a rental and doesn’t belong to me so having the WashPod is fantastic as it fits in the garage and we don’t need to change the property” continues Jessica. “I would definitely recommend it as a safe way to shower and perfect for disabled people who can’t get upstairs”.

The plan is to keep WashPod for a couple of years so that they can get their house built in a sensible, comfortable timeframe.

Having spent 4½ months in hospital, 21 year old Luke wanted nothing more than to go home but the house had no accessible bathroom facilities. WashPod, the unique mobile, disabled wetroom, provided a rapid and dignified solution.

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 middle-aged, bariatric woman, who is severely disabled and wheelchair bound, used the WashPod to make a rental property suitable for her needs. She wanted to trial her ability to live reasonably independently in a home of her own, despite the need for full-time carers. The trial continues to go well and it is hoped that soon she will find a property of her own to adapt and live in permanently.

At this two-storey maisonette, there is a small back yard where a larger than normal WashPod unit has been installed. It serves a nine year old girl and offers a wheelchair accessible wet room and a therapy room for treatments as well. In this instance, the cost of the family relocating to a more suitable home are currently prohibited. The unit continues to be of great benefit to her, her carers and family.

A WashPod unit was installed for an elderly, disabled woman who wanted to stay in her own home with her husband. The WashPod was rented for some months and allowed the couple the time to build a new house that was fully accessible and designed to meet her needs. Husband and wife have been able to move to their new home together and WashPod helped them stay together during this difficult time.

WashPod suited the needs of this very disabled young lady who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and needs good temperature regulation. She has to be trolley washed with two carers and the property is a rental where, understandably, it’s more difficult to make major adaptions to the building structure.

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.

A middle aged man who had been injured in a work-related accident and was wheelchair bound, was able to use the WashPod unit as part of his interim care provision between hospital and finding a new, more suitably adapted home. It allowed him to leave hospital quicker and return to his family and home to start his rehabilitation.

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.

This was a rental property of a family with a child suffering from Cerebral Palsy. The landlord was reluctant to allow any structural changes to the property but WashPod provided the answer.

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.