Wallgate has worked closely with Bradford District Care Trust’s architect, DLA Freeman White, to introduce a new range of ‘dementia-friendly’ colours for anti-ligature fixed toilet seats for the award-winning new Dementia Assessment Unit centre at Daisy Hill House in Bradford.
The centre, which recently achieved the ‘Gold’ standard from the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) in its latest Dementia Design accreditations – the first hospital unit refurbishment to do so – caters for patients with complex mental health issues requiring calming and therapeutic environments.
Considerable care was taken in choosing a contrasting colour for the washroom sanitaryware – which was installed during the refurbishment of the ground floor of an existing twostorey care building to provide a 22-bed dementia assessment unit. This is the first entire dementia assessment unit audited by the DSDC.
Annie Pollock, former architect, and director of landscape architecture at the DSDC, commented: “Wallgate and DLA Freeman White consulted with us in respect of the appropriateness of the grey toilet seat – which was also used in the recently completed intensive therapy unit at the same site, Lynfield Mount in Bradford – for general use in buildings for people with dementia. The DSDC has agreed with the proposal for wider use of such contrasting toilet seats on the basis of existing knowledge and research.”
Tania Kosma, DLA Freeman White’s senior architect, added: “We were delighted with the engagement of Rob Kimber, Wallgate’s technical sales manager, with our request for a dementia-friendly colour for the integrated seat. Wallgate’s willingness to address the sector’s wider goal of delivering dementia-friendly environments is commendable. It also meant we developed a solid contrasting tone, well received by the Dementia Service Development Centre.”