Refurbishing and building on new best practice guidelines

New ‘best practice’ guidelines have been published addressing bedroom and bathroom accessibility in multi-occupancy buildings- be it new build or refurbishment.

Simultaneously, Britain’s leading provider of disabled toileting solutions, Closomat, is announcing new developments that enable hotel, residential and care home operators and communal/supported housing providers to comply, stylishly, with a unique package from specification, through fitting to future service and maintenance.

BS8300:2018 Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment extends the remit of compliance covered under its predecessor BS8300:2009. The latest version is not specific to new build projects, and applies to all building types that require permanent sleeping accommodation for disabled people.

It also picks up on the fact that some disabilities are not visible, but require urgent access to sanitary facilities- such as the 6.5million people who have bladder or bowel continence problems.

Under the new guidelines, up to 5% of bedrooms should have a wheelchair accessible en-suite shower room, if en-suite facilities are available elsewhere in the building; a further 1% should have a fixed track hoist system, a further 5% maximum should have an en-suite for ambulant disabled people, with an overall total of 15% of bedrooms large enough to enable easy adaptation if required in the future.

Closomat offers a range of contemporary ceiling track hoist systems that can be tailored to individual needs, enabling movement and transfer within a room, through to an en-suite, or beyond.

In the bathroom, it can provide a range of fixtures such as grab rails, height-adjustable or fixed washbasins that integrate with a stylish wall track system, enabling quick and easy adaptation to individual occupant needs.

Its range of wash & dry toilets take accessibility into higher realms of inclusion and intimate hygiene, with contemporary styled floor- standing, wall-mounted and height adjustable variants.

“Accessibility is a growing consideration in building design,” explains Robin Tuffley, Closomat marketing manager.

“Whether designing a new build or refurbishing, it makes sense to future-proof it to accommodate the growing numbers of people with impairments who need help who will stay somewhere, whether short, medium or long term. Just in the hotel industry, parties which include a disabled person spend £14billion a year on tourism and travel: can you afford to ignore that?

“The Standard applies also to residential and care homes for example: we all know how that market is set to increase, and that inevitably the older generation have more issues with mobility.”