Eurocare Showers MD Mike Holborn looks at how local authorities can capitalise on innovation in the showering market to achieve long-term value.
With the proposed Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) star ratings system set to become reality, the minds of local authorities will be focused still further on delivering quality and service.
Combine this with shrinking budgets and you have a situation in which specifiers are more conscious than ever of achieving, and providing, value for money.
When it comes to bathing and showering products - as with all products and services - choosing the solution that best meets the end user’s needs is the ideal. Working within the limitations of available space and budget, taking into consideration the needs of all household users and finding the best product for the job is no mean feat. But it doesn’t stop there.
What happens when - as is so often the case with special needs bathing and showering systems - the end user’s needs change, or a new tenant with different needs replaces the one for whom the system was originally installed?
The upshot is that local authorities will look for the most effective and flexible long-term solutions to help save money in the long run.
One of the most flexible and popular bathing systems is the wet room, for which demand has increased significantly in recent years as local authorities recognise the flexibility it affords. As well as reflecting a trend in the domestic market, wet rooms certainly offer a long-term solution and cater for a multitude of end user needs.
Offering complete level access, a wet room can be easily used - or adapted for
use - by several different people in the same household. For example, a full-height screen can be fitted for privacy with half-height doors at one end for easy assistance with bathing if it is required.
The growth in popularity of the wet room has led to an explosion of innovation in the showering market, as manufacturers seek to capitalise on the adaptability of the system and deliver increasingly flexible solutions. Manufacturers have been driving forward new innovations designed to save time, money and effort - perhaps the best known of which is the wet floor former.
Developed as a feasible alternative to screeding, the wet floor former is fitted under the floor and eliminates the difficulties associated with forming gradients and falls by hand. Manufacturers are now taking the wet floor former concept forward, with new features that deliver even greater time and cost saving benefits and increased product longevity.
Another area where manufacturers are driving new product innovation is in shower doors. Whilst it can be tempting - under budgetary pressures - to opt for a shower curtain and rail rather than fitting doors or screens, the potential safety risks cannot be ignored.
Doors and screens will contain water during showering, which - if the floor were even slightly uneven - would otherwise gather and cause a slip hazard. In addition, a screen or door provides far more privacy for the user, not to mention protection for the carer from an untimely shower!
Add to this the wealth of development work into new doors with added operational, fitting and aesthetic benefits - our new range features rise and fall hinges, smooth sliding panels covering a range of sizes, but no hazardous mechanisms that could fail - and doors become an even more attractive long-term solution.
Of course even the best products can be let down by poor fitting. Removing a wet floor once the vinyl has been laid is costly, in both time and money terms, not to mention disruption to the end user.
Marrying the best products with expert contractors will ensure that product life is maximised, but it’s vital that manufacturers’ fitting instructions are followed to the letter to get the best from the products you’re investing in.
Working closely with the manufacturer throughout the specification and installation process - the best will offer comprehensive technical support - will ensure every installation is built to last.
