Dementia-friendly wards
A package of Altro floors and walls has been used to create an optimum environment of safety, calmness and wellbeing for dementia patients on a general ward at Salisbury District Hospital.
Lesley Meaker who heads up the hospital’s ArtCare design team said: “Floors must to be very safe underfoot – especially when wet – slip-resistant and sparkle-free, so as not to confuse people with dementia. Colours need to be neutral, with no patterns or ambiguous designs that can potentially upset patients, and finishes must be matt and muted. There also needs to be good contrast between floors and walls.”
For the ward’s main corridor, Lesley and her team specified Altro XpressLay safety flooring. Quick to install, it is suitable for high-traffic areas being highly durable and slip-resistant.
Altro Wood Smooth flooring was specified for the ward’s main circulation area. Easy to maintain, it can be welded to provide a hygienic surface, making it suitable for areas where infection control and high standards of cleanliness are required.
To create safe and hygienic wet rooms with a non-sparkle finish, the ward’s six en suite bathrooms were fitted with Altro Whiterock Satins wall cladding and Altro Aquarius safety flooring.
Offering the option of a digitally printed design on wall surface, Altro Whiterock Digiclad wall cladding was used to turn a single room on the ward into a communal living space.
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