Austevoll Care and Nursing Centre – Storebø, Norway
Austevoll Care and Nursing Centre in Norway have installed Bano bathroom solutions in their facilities. We have spoken with Quality and Operations Coordinator, Trude Bjånesøy, about their experiences with the new bathrooms.
The municipality has a total of 11 care apartments that have been equipped with Bano bathrooms – a solution they are very satisfied with! Trude explains that they now have a more independent everyday life where patients can manage on their own to a greater extent than earlier. Maintaining independence is crucial to preserving the dignity of each individual, especially when it comes to the need for assistance in intimate situations such as bathroom visit.
A new everyday life with many functional solutions
“It can be a little unfamiliar with so many new features and solutions. But most of them learned quickly and become comfortable. Now everyone has a much more independent everyday life – a benefit for both patients and caregivers”, Bjånesøy explained.
Each bathroom can be tailored to individual needs. Austevoll Care and Nursing Centre have made several choices to optimize their bathrooms. Here are some of the choices they have made.
They have chosen toilets that are turnable. Bano Turnable Toilets can rotate 290 degrees, allowing access from both sides with a wheelchair. This also allows them to turn towards the sink and wash their hands directly after using the toilet, without having to touch any aids in between. This makes the toilet visit more hygienic.
The turnable toilet is also useful for showering and care, as it also functions as a shower seat. This reduces the number of transfers needed in the bathroom, which also reduces the number of falls and strain injuries. We have written an article about how reducing the number of transfers reduces the number of injuries, which you can read here.
Their Bano Turnable Toilet is also equipped with a wash and dry function, something the residents greatly appreciate. This means they no longer need assistance after using the toilet.
In additions, they have chosen sinks equipped with support handles, providing a good grip and secure support for patients. The sink can also be raised and lowered, allowing wheelchair users to get right up to the sink.
Increased independence, to the benefit of both patient and caregiver
When the bathrooms make users more independent, the workday for the staff also becomes much easier. In situations where assistance is necessary, collaboration between them is much smoother. There are fewer heavy lifts and easier access to patients in the bathrooms, which have traditionally been cramped and demanding – something that helps preserve the health of the staff.
A smooth process
So how was the process of installing the Bano bathrooms? The process of installing the bathrooms has gone smoothly, Bjånesøy tells us, and they had a good cooperation with Bano throughout the process.
If you would like to learn more about Bano Concept and the options available for your project, please feel free to contact us. Our employees will gladly assist you in the process.