Adult care homes in the UK have been on the rise to serve the ever-increasing needs of our older population. As people age, it becomes consistently harder to cater to all their needs which is why care homes are often the perfect alternative to home-based care. But old age homes come with their own set of challenges. A great number of the elderly population suffers from Dementia, Alzheimers and Parkinsons. This means that the care home premises need to have top-notch safety and security measures in place to ensure that the residents within do not wander off on their own.
This includes having adequate and well-trained staff on board to keep a close eye on people entering and exiting the care home premises.
The types of doors installed at various points of entry is a brilliant way to safeguard the premises from both internal and external factors.
Robust and sturdy doors for care homes should be an integral aspect of your plan for a safe and secure property.
This is why at Doorway Services, we’ve highlighted the 3 types of doors that every care home needs!
1. Fire Doors
You can never be too prepared in case of fire breakouts and care homes are no exception. Fire doors should be a part of both residential and commercial premises so that intense fires can be contained and the affected building can be evacuated.
The simple truth is that fire doors save lives. They’re made to contain fire and smoke from spreading for a certain time period which can be used to:
- Safeguard escape routes so people within care homes can safely vacate the premises.
- Safeguard the property and the contents within (for insurance purposes)
- Let firefighters tackle the fire as safely and quickly as possible.
Add smoke alarms and fire extinguishers to the mix and your care home will be at the peak of safety. Fire door maintenance and repair has to be taken up regularly to ensure they’re in top-notch condition as they’re integral to the health and safety of a premise.
At Doorway Services, we’ll help you ensure that the fire doors in your care home are always functioning at the highest standard.
2. Automatic Doors
The older population in care homes might not be able to manually open and close heavyset doors. This is where automatic doors come into the picture. What’s more, these are available in both swing and slide alternatives so you can take your pick.
Having automatic doors installed in care homes and other commercial premises is applicable by law as well. According to the ‘Disability and Discrimination Act Part 3, Provision of Services’ enforced on 1st October 2004 – service providers have to make “reasonable adjustments” in their premises to make sure that people with disability are able to access the premises.
This means elderly people and people with disabilities should be able to enter and exit premises freely and in a safe way. Care homes provide a service to the elderly which directly makes the law applicable to them.
And the best way to ensure that the elderly can enter and exit a premise without any assistance is by installing automatic doors from Doorway Services.
3. Password Protected Automatic Doors
As mentioned earlier, the elderly in care homes may suffer from ailments like dementia. They might wander off sometimes without being able to find their way back and this concern in care homes is ever-present.
To remedy this, care homes can install password protected automatic doors to ensure that the patients in the premise don’t ever lose their way. Unless a member of staff punches in the password, they won’t be able to get out of their respective wards. This way, care home personnel will be able to keep tabs on the whereabouts of every resident while ensuring they don’t wander away and hurt themselves.
Password protected automatic doors are perhaps an easy and effective way to protect care homes from break-ins. So, if you’re wondering how you could up your game and make your premises more secure, password-protected doors are the answer!
At Doorway Services, we provide an extensive range of robust commercial doors perfect for care homes. What’s more, we can customise each door as per your individual requirements while also providing routine maintenance checks and repairs.
Give us a call today and make your care homes safe and secure for its inhabitants!