Saturday 30 May 2015

Use a Floor Treatment For Retirement Villages

Retirement villages or private care homes are places in which the elderly live when they need a higher level of care and protection. For this reason, it is absolutely essential that a regular anti slip floor treatment is applied and maintained.

 

While retirement homes offer a higher level of care, in most cases there are residents who do not receive full time care. There will be times when there is no one to supervise, and this means that the environment must be as safe as possible to minimise any risks. Precautions such as anti slip floor treatment can maximise safety while maintaining some level of independence for residents.

Elderly citizens are prone to falls more than the average person. This is due to a combination of reasons, including reduction in eyesight, mobility and reaction time. Furthermore, when they do fall, their bones are more brittle and thus will likely be more affected by the consequences. This makes it doubly important to protect from falls. Every year, one in three older people (aged 65 or over) has a fall. This statistic includes major and minor incidences, but to put it in perspective, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries in older Australians. In 2013, over 25,000 older adults passed away either directly after or from complications arising from an accidental fall.

Minimising falls is obviously of great concern to retirement homes in protecting the interests of their residents; however it has more far reaching benefits. The ageing population has increased strain on the health system, and falls alone account for a huge investment. In 2013, 34 billion dollars in medical costs was spent in direct response to elderly falls.

Anti slip treatments can be applied on a range of surfaces, such as laminate flooring in corridors and tiles and ceramic in bathrooms. These floor surfaces are popular in these aged care facilities because of their practicality in terms of being easy to clean and move around on. However, without the cushioning of say, carpet, falls that do happen will be met with a smack rather than a just a bump.

Retirement homes concerned for their residents’ welfare, or those which have experienced a high level of injury reporting, should combine several strategies to improve safety. A anti slip floor treatment applied by a professional should be sought in conjunction with regular resident optometrist assessments, installation of grab bars and panic buttons, and evaluation of lighting effectiveness. Of course, a kitchen and catering service which targets bone strength is highly advised, in particular serving plenty of calcium, vitamin D and supplements. If problems persist, it is advisable to review all resident medications, as sometimes certain pills or a combination of medicines can cause side effects such as dizziness and light headedness.

Anti slip floor treatments boast a great reduction in slipperiness in both wet and dry conditions. The surface will offer more grip to anything it comes into contact with, such as walkers, wheels and shoes. It can improve safety not only for residents, but also for staff members who might be rushing or lose their concentration for a second. Step Solve offers a comprehensive professional treatment service, as well as a number of other safety features such as stair tread and tactile indicators which may be suitable for use around the aged care property. If you would like to dramatically improve the safety conditions for those under your care, please contact the reliable team at Step Solve at http://stepsolve.com.au/ which would be glad to discuss our successful anti slip floor treatment service with you.

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