Adaption to assist with toilet transfer
We were contacted by City of York Council Occupational Therapist for ideas to help a 94-year-old lady with an extreme mobility impairment to transfer independently to and from the WC.
The Challenge
The client is very petite and has an extreme mobility impairment, her left leg has the foot rotated inward at 90 degrees and she is unable to bend freely at the hips. Standard toilet assistance such as Mowbray seats have been tried but are impractical as she is unable to bend in order to sit. The WC is in a tiny understair cupboard only 670mm wide that limits options but does offer side walls for fixing handrails.
The solution
The WC is in a tiny understair cupboard only 670mm wide that both limited options while at the same time offering side walls for fixing handrails.
It was generally agreed to try and create something that allowed our client to ‘perch’ on a seat at an angle whilst keeping the seat as low as possible given how small the client is. 30 degrees from horizontal was proposed and is how it has evolved.
After some thought, it was decided to create a timber frame fixed on the existing traditional WC pan. First, a cardboard ‘mock-up’ was created and brought to site for discussion before cutting timber.
The timber frame is made from 20mm pine laminated ‘furniture board’ glued and screwed; the lining between top and bottom is 1/64” birch ply steamed to shape and glued in position, all then four-coat painted. This was mounted on a conventional pine toilet seat with lid etc all removed and screwed to the frame and sealed all round with sanitary sealant. The frame is bolted to the usual seat-fixing holes at the rear and has a rubber door-stop at each side underneath to stop it rotating sideways.
It was obvious that additional handrailing was required. This was supplied by the client and fixed on pedestals to bring it within easy reach of the WC.
Because of uncertainty about whether this arrangement would really suit the client, the toilet adaptation was designed to be easily removed, and the handrails were set at a height that allows the Mowbray-type frame to be slid underneath.
The benefit
The client’s daughter kindly shared this update: ‘Mum is less mobile than she was. So is now leaning against your toilet seat and it’s working really well. Many thanks again.’
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