Assisted showering can be the most rewarding experience if the right equipment is used.

Most of us will agree that the psychological and physiological benefits of bathing are enormous yet the majority of us with the capacity to bath independently take this for granted.

Imagine being bedbound and never experiencing the relaxation and rejuvenation of tip to toe cleanliness, being immersed in a warm bath, or just standing in the shower aware of every comforting drop touching your body.

For many receiving care in an acute or community setting just imagining that experience is all they can hope. Bathing for them is Assisted Bathing, which means carer intervention is required to perform the basics of a personal hygiene routine rather than that of a much more personal experience.
But thanks to the expert team of assisted bathing designers and manufacturers at Reval, personal hygiene wellbeing has become a reality for the customers of Bury based community care provider Persona Care & Support.

We interviewed Eddie Cheung – Head of Operations (Short Stay) at Persona Care & Support, about the transformative effects Reval’s mobile shower unit, the Ruby, has had for customers and staff.

How does offering assisted showering facilities benefit your customers?

We had a lady who hadn’t had a full body wash for ages; she was bedbound and couldn’t access the bathroom easily. This lady said it was like a spa experience ‘all I’m missing now is the candles and music.’ So for her next bath, staff did just that, they put music in her room!

Another lady in the later stages of dementia wouldn’t let anyone do any personal care for her, not even her own daughter. She hadn’t had a shower in ages. When they managed to convince her to try Ruby. She was so content and relaxed with Ruby that her daughter commented she had never seen her so happy having a shower. Things like that clearly show that these bathing innovations really work.

How have Reval products had a positive impact on staff?

Feedback from staff was that although it can be a little more time consuming, it’s worth it to offer such a positive experience to the customers,

it’s easy to use, it’s user friendly, its been positively received, which doesn’t go for all changes, but when Ruby came along, pretty soon it was ‘it’s brilliant, it’s amazing, let’s use it’ to the point where a member of staff would volunteer to do the showers just because she wanted to use it. It got the staff talking, as it was something they hadn’t seen before, and for them to see that they had had this investment made in them was a really positive thing.
It’s also boosted the staff teams because they’ve seen the investment in new equipment and new ways of working; it’s become very much something they own.

Visit the Reval Website for More Information: www.revalcc.co.uk