As India is progressing towards an elder friendly society hence it is critical that care policies and guidelines needs to be drafted for the benefit of the larger cause.
One important area of concern is standards and procedures for Assisted Bathing and Assisted Showers.
Though bed bath in the form of sponge rub and other formats has been in practice, however when it comes to assisted bathtubs and assisted bathrooms, unfortunately there are no policy guidelines which promotes standardization of bathing procedure.
A Safe Bathing and Showering national policy in India w.r.t older people, people with Dementia/Alzheimer’s or bedridden elderly, will not only help care home staff and operators to deliver best practices but also improve the well-being and dignity of older people.
Socially developed countries have their own set of standards on aged care, of which personal care services is an extremely important area of intervention.
Though it is not advisable to blindly follow all standards and guidelines on senior care of developed nations, however it is always advisable to be educated on the best practices being followed across the globe.
It is high time that Indian policy makers define relevant policies, guidelines, processes, rules, regulations and laws to rein in the unregistered, unregulated and unsupervised senior citizen care homes.
Attached is a brief guide by Clinical Skills Ltd on “Giving a bed bath”. The larger point of debate is, are assisted bathtubs or bath lift chairs/ hoists safe to use in Indian care homes?
The document can be downloaded here (Bed Bath for Older People) or can be viewed below