Evaluation of Aids and Equipment for the Bath and Toilet

It is often suspected by those presenting and supplying aids that while many are a great help to patients, others are rarely used. There is little information on the acceptability of various designs of bath and lavatory aids. Although new aids are designed and produced every year, few "Which" type surveys based on visits to the home have evaluated their good and bad features or even their safety. Acceptance of the tenet that aids should arrive with or before the patient is discharged from hospital to home is widespread but it is not known how well this is achieved in various parts of the country and under various supply arrangements.