Everything you need to know to make your geriatric bathroom compliant with regulations

Everything You Need to Know to Ensure Your Geriatric Bathroom Meets Regulations

Geriatric bathrooms need to be equipped with specific elements to ensure accessibility and safety for their users, who are often elderly people with reduced mobility. All of this is regulated by standards that must be met by nursing homes, aiming to guarantee accessibility, safety, and comfort for both users and their companions.

What Ensures Safety in a Geriatric Bathroom?

First, it should be noted that bathrooms and restrooms are spaces where most falls and accidents occur, so it is advisable to install an assistance system such as a wireless bell that can be easily activated.

Additionally, the various aspects that ensure accessibility to a geriatric bathroom are as follows:

  • Access: It should be accessible via a ramp or flat surface, allowing entry for people with wheelchairs, crutches, etc. The entrance door should preferably be sliding or open outward. Furthermore, handles and locks should be easy to manipulate.
  • Interior Dimensions: They should allow a person in a wheelchair to move comfortably and safely, allowing wheel turns without encountering obstacles.
  • Flooring: It should be non-slip both when dry and wet, with a coating that does not produce reflective glare.
  • Color Contrast: All sanitary fixtures or electrical mechanisms should be of the press type (avoiding levers or turns) and should stand out chromatically from the floor and walls.

Elements of a Geriatric Bathroom

Next, we will list the elements that a geriatric bathroom should have:

  • Extra-flat Shower: This will avoid the step of traditional showers and the difficulty of accessing bathtubs. Additionally, the shower should be large, allowing good mobility inside.
  • Support Bars: These bathroom accessories are especially necessary in the shower area and around the toilet, where it is preferable to place them on both sides.
  • Toilet: The toilet should be accessible and adapted, meeting special measurements, being higher than a conventional toilet; and should be located with enough space to be accessed from a wheelchair.
  • Hygiene Area: It is advisable to have a wall-mounted sink, as this facilitates access for a person in a wheelchair. Additionally, the faucet should be adapted and have a longer-than-usual gerontological handle.

Mandatory Regulations

This document provides the current regulations (by autonomous community) regarding all aspects related to nursing homes, such as physical elements (room composition, bathrooms, living room, etc.) and human resources (staff needed to meet all needs).

Regarding geriatric bathrooms, at the national level and mandatory throughout Spain, it is indicated that centers with more than 4 to 50 places should have “one bathroom per 30-100 places, with an area of 10 to 14m2.”

Additionally, different autonomous communities have also legislated on this aspect. For example, in Andalusia, it is specified that “there will be one geriatric bathroom for every 20 assisted residents or fraction and one for every 30 valid residents or fraction. It will have an approximate area of 7m2.” In the case of Catalonia, it is indicated that “residences with more than 25 places must have a geriatric bathroom that allows the maneuverability of a crane and a bed stretcher system. This basic provision must increase by one more unit for every 40 assisted places.”

On the other hand, in the case of Extremadura, it is stated that residences “will have one shower or geriatric bathroom for every 30 residents.” In the Canary Islands, it is stated that “in centers with 30 or more places, there will be one geriatric bathroom, with a minimum area of 10 m2.” In Galicia, it is specified that “residences with more than 25 places must have a geriatric bathroom that allows the maneuverability of a wheelchair. This basic provision must increase by one more unit for every 40 assisted places.”

In Murcia, it is indicated that residences with more than 14 places must have “one geriatric bathroom for every 40 users, equipped with a toilet, sink, bathtub or shower, with a minimum area of 15 m2.” In the Basque Country, residences with more than 50 places “must have at least one assisted geriatric bathroom. The bathroom will have a minimum area of 15 m2.” Finally, it is reported that in the Valencian Community, there must be “one bathroom for up to 100 residents, and two bathrooms for more than 100 residents.”

At Simex we offer a wide range of products to ensure accessibility for people with reduced mobility in geriatric bathrooms. In this regard, as technical aids we have different models of foldable shower seats, sink sets, mirrors with frames, toilets, toilet seats and support bars. It should be noted that all of them strictly comply with accessibility regulations and are designed to improve the safety and quality of life of people with reduced mobility.

Furthermore, we have designed two complete bathroom design proposals to facilitate their composition: the Trevi solution, with products made of high-strength stainless steel coated with white epoxy paint; and the Alhambra solution, with products made of high-strength stainless steel with a satin finish.

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We hope you found this article interesting and, as always, if you want to place an order, if you have any questions or need more information about any of our products, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to assist you!