AKW Releases Stroke Survivor Care Home Design Guide

A new guide that aims to help care homes build the ideal personal space for stroke survivors has been released by AKW. Produced with expert knowledge from Senior Occupational Therapy Lecturer Terri Grant from the University of Worcester, the guide called “Creating care homes that aid stroke rehabilitation” outlines the best practice design principles for bathroom and bedroom suites, and offers comprehensive advice to both nursing and residential homes.

With approximately 8,000 people being discharged from hospital to a care home after stroke every year in the UK, the guide highlights the importance of creating suitable accommodation that puts stroke survivors on the road to rehabilitation. It has been developed as a reference point for care home staff, plumbers and builders, and, as half of all survivors have a disability, the guide aims to further improve the facilities available for those who have survived and subsequently live with the impact of stroke.

Free to download through the AKW website, the guide gives an insight into the different types of stroke, the impact it can have on people’s lives and the challenges that survivors commonly face in the home environment. It then goes on to provide advice on designing areas that encourage rehabilitation and wellbeing, and offers specification guidance for essential equipment, such as showers, toilets and basins.

The AKW guide to creating care homes that aid stroke rehabilitation can be downloaded here.