8 Oct 2020 | Posted by Rebecca Garbutt
After struggling to access her garden and bathroom facilities, 93-year-old Elaine* and her son John reached out to our HomePlus team to see if they could help.
Following her diagnosis of Osteoarthritis – a condition which affects mobility and can cause joint pain - daily tasks such as leaving her home or using the shower were becoming both difficult and unsafe.
With her mobility worsening over the last 12 months, it was important to John that he found a contractor who understood her needs and had experience in installing accessible bathrooms.
After approaching Age UK and Social Services for advice, John was put in touch with HomePlus in hopes of making her bungalow safer and more accessible.
“I didn’t want someone to just rip the bathroom out” he explained, “because most of what was already there was okay. We wanted to use what we had.”
According to John, HomePlus “ticked all the boxes” and it wasn’t long before they got to work planning with the rest of the team.
John met with our Adaptions Delivery Lead, Simon Kingsley-Davey to discuss what could be done to help Elaine.
“I found Simon very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. He was very practical and looked at ways to make it easier and cheaper for us.”
Despite complications early on, John was very pleased with their patience and willingness to go above and beyond what was asked of them.
“Mum kept changing her mind about what she wanted, but to HomePlus’ credit, they were very flexible throughout the job.”
The work involved converting the space into a wet room, with added handles and a mounted shower chair to support her while she uses her new bathroom.
After four days, the work on her new bathroom had finished, and John says he’s delighted with the result.
John said: “They’ve delivered everything she wanted. It was well designed, and mum feels very safe using it.”
“I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them in the future, and I think mum would do the same.”