step and door handle AdAPTIONS

The request was for an adaptation for a gentleman with MND who is unable to raise his hands and has a weak grip, so he is unable to safely open and close the lever handles on his front door, or reach the key hole on his front door. He lives alone so he is effectively housebound unless he has a person with him to open and close the door. He would like to go out for walks, to chat to his neighbours without waiting for someone to come and help him get in and out of his front door.  His OT has referred him to the technicians service to consider technology to help him open the door electronically, but this solution will take some time to  install and  we wanted to enable him to get in and out of the door safely now, while he is able to walk around locally.

The front door opens onto the pavement with a high step up to the threshold, so the handles are at different heights inside and outside. The front door is in a tight recess inside and outside so the solution had to fit within that space.

First the Remap maker Neil made a simple half step to get him up a few inches higher from the pavement, to be nearer the door handle, he also extended the step slightly so that is a bit deeper giving more space to stand safely to position his hands for using the lock and the handle; ensuring that the step didn’t encroach onto the existing pavement as the Council enforce this rule.  The step is fixed securely to the original concrete door step.

Then Neil addressed the handle problem: the front door opens onto the pavement and is fitted in a recess on the inside and outside.  The current lever handle is too high and too difficult to grip and Neil tried the standard type of lever handle adaptations but these weren’t suitable for this gentleman; too long for the recessed doorway, too high and too difficult to grip and operate. So Neil  designed a clever pivoting system: He drilled a hole in the original door handle (having checked the handle composition with a door expert!) Then he made a T bar handle with a long hook that fits securely into the hole so that the lever can be activated from a lower position. The simple wooden T bar handle can be gripped by just sliding fingers either side of the metal hook, the metal hook pivots in the handle hole so that it can be operated just by pushing down on the handle, which brings the lever down to open the door latch.

Neil had to make the outside door hook longer and portable to avoid the risk of it being removed by a passer-by. Neil  made a shorter version for the inside of the front door, which can be kept in position at all times. The pivoting handle doesn’t obstruct access by others and the original door handle and lock can still be used from inside and outside.