Improved hygiene for children

Even the smallest disabled child can toilet with dignity and improved hygiene with the latest offering from Clos-o-Mat.

The UK’s leading supplier of toileting aids for the disabled has developed a bespoke clip-on version of the innovative Rifton Hygiene & Toileting System (HTS), enabling the seat to be used with Clos-o-Mat’s Palma Vita wash & dry toilet.

As a result, disabled children as small as 106cms and their carers can now benefit from the independence and hygiene inherent in a wash & dry toilet. Yet the flexibility of the unit means larger children and small adults - up to 187cms - can similarly use the combination: the Rifton HTS seat is available in two sizes, with each size delivering tool-free depth, height and width adjustability so it can be easily adapted as the child grows.

The Rifton HTS toilet-top uses a unique bracket system engineered by Clos-o-Mat to simply clip onto the Palma Vita. The unit can be tailored to individual child needs through a raft of accessories including hip and lateral supports, anterior support, foot rests, safety straps, abductor and splashguards. Once the clip-on seat is secured into position, the Palma Vita can be used as normal - ie as a conventional WC or, by longer pressure on the flush pad, to wash and dry the user after toileting. After use, the Rifton HTS clip-on can be unclipped so other members of the family can use the WC, and wiped down with a cloth if required.

The Clos-o-Mat Palma Vita itself sits as low as 41cm as standard, facilitating access and use by children- or adults. Looking just like a conventional toilet, it can be used as such, but has the optional ability, by simple hand or body pressing of the flush lever, to cleanse the user via the integral douche and drier, without the need for wiping with toilet paper.

The clip-on system compliments the Clos-o-Mat’s paediatric support range which helps ensure the young person is properly seated, positioned and supported when using the toilet.

Robin Tuffley, Clos-o-Mat marketing manager, explains, “Today, one child in 20 under the age of 16 is disabled - a 62% increase in the past 25 years! Our management team are family people, as a company we have an ethos of optimising life for everyone, and appreciate the need to accommodate everyone’s needs, regardless of age and size, and appreciating budgetary constraints.”

Clos-o-Mat works closely with Occupational Therapists and appropriate care professionals to help advise on the most appropriate toileting solutions for each individual, and offers a free consultation and demonstration facility. Its Palma Vita unit was the first wash and dry toilet to be developed specifically for disabled people and is now the UK’s biggest-selling such unit, with almost 40,000 being installed in locations ranging from individual’s homes to hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, shopping centres, tourist attractions and even on narrowboats. Full information is detailed on the company’s website: wwww.clos-o-mat.com.