Home Fall-Hazard Walkthrough

Home Fall-Hazard Walkthrough 12 Ash Road — walkthrough for the OT This looks at the HOME, not at the person living in it. Every line below is something you can see and point at — a rug, a cable, a missing handrail — and the order is arithmetic you can check and argue with. There is no score here, no rating, no level and no verdict about anybody. If you have a question about your own falls, your balance, dizziness, your eyesight or your medicines, that belongs with your doctor, nurse or physiotherapist, and this report is not a substitute for asking them. Marked: 7 found · 3 checked and clear · 1 not applicable · 37 not yet checked An item nobody has checked is not an item that is safe. It is left out of the fix list only because nobody has looked at it. HOW THE ORDER WAS DECIDED — check it, and disagree if you like Every hazard carries two numbers, and both are printed beside it. PLACE (1-3) — where the hazard is: 3 Stairs · Bathroom 2 Entrance & steps · Bedroom & the night-time route · Outdoor paths · Lighting throughout 1 Hallways & walkways · Living room · Kitchen A fall on the stairs is a fall through a height, and a bathroom is hard edges, water and nothing soft to land on, so those two lead. The night-time route scores 2 because it gets walked in the dark, half awake. Everywhere else scores 1 — which does not mean safe, it means the same hazard does less damage there. EASE (1-3) — how easily it is fixed: 3 Free, today, in minutes. 2 Free, but it is an afternoon's work. 1 Needs something bought or fitted. A high EASE number does not mean the hazard matters more. It means there is less excuse. The fix that actually gets done is the one that costs nothing and takes ten minutes. PRIORITY = PLACE + EASE, so 2 to 6, highest first. The list is split by EASE first — everything free before everything that has to be bought — and then ordered by PRIORITY inside each part. That is deliberate: the free list is the one that gets done. Ties are broken by PLACE, then by the order items appear in the checklist. This is arithmetic, not a judgement about your home. The two numbers are printed beside every line precisely so that you can disagree with the ordering. If you know the loose mat matters more than the list says, do that one first. FIX TODAY, FOR NOTHING — costs nothing, minutes each (5 item(s)) 1. Stairs — Things are left on the stairs to take up later priority 6 = place 3 + ease 3 [stair-clutter] Fix: Stop, today. A basket at the top and a basket at the bottom, emptied when you are going up or down anyway. Nothing gets set down on a tread. 2. Bathroom — The bath mat on the floor slides on the tiles priority 6 = place 3 + ease 3 [bath-mat-loose] Fix: Rubber-backed only, or take it out and dry your feet on a towel. It is wet tile: this is one to do today. 3. Lighting throughout — A bulb is out somewhere you walk priority 5 = place 2 + ease 3 [light-bulb-out] Fix: Replace it today. It is the cheapest thing on this list and it needs nobody's permission. 4. Hallways & walkways — A rug or runner in the hall slides, or its edges curl priority 4 = place 1 + ease 3 [hall-rug-loose] Fix: Take it up. A rug on a walking route that you have to think about is a rug that should not be there. If it stays, it needs a full anti-slip underlay and flat edges, not a corner of tape. 5. Living room — Lamp, TV or charger cables cross the floor priority 4 = place 1 + ease 3 [liv-cables] Fix: Reroute them behind the furniture. Nothing crosses the line between the door and the chair. NEEDS BUYING OR FITTING — somebody has to buy it or fit it (2 item(s)) 6. Stairs — There is a handrail on one side only priority 4 = place 3 + ease 1 [stair-one-side] Fix: Add a second rail on the other side. Two rails means something to hold going up and going down, with either hand, and with the other hand full. ! Same fixing rule as any rail: into the studs or solid timber, never into plasterboard alone, and tested with full weight before it is trusted. 7. Bathroom — There is no grab rail at the bath or in the shower priority 4 = place 3 + ease 1 [bath-grabrail-bath] Fix: Fit one where the hand actually reaches. Get in and out and notice where you grab, then put the rail there rather than where it looks tidy. ! A grab rail must be fixed into a stud, into a solid timber noggin, or with hollow-wall fixings rated for the load, and it must be tested with full body weight before anybody trusts it. A rail that pulls out of plasterboard is worse than no rail at all, because someone is hanging off it wet. On a tiled wall this wants doing properly; if there is any doubt, pay somebody who fits them for a living. THE CHECKLIST — all 48 item(s), and what you marked them Legend: [!] found · [.] checked and clear [-] not applicable · [?] not yet checked Entrance & steps (place 2) [?] ent-step-uneven — A front or back step is uneven, cracked or crumbling [?] ent-no-handrail — The front or back steps have no handrail [?] ent-doormat — The doormat slides, or its edges curl up [.] ent-clutter — Shoes, parcels, bins or a bike are left in the doorway [?] ent-threshold — The door saddle or threshold strip is raised, loose or lifting Hallways & walkways (place 1) [!] hall-rug-loose — A rug or runner in the hall slides, or its edges curl [.] hall-cables — Cables, extension leads or a charger cross a walking route [?] hall-clutter — Boxes, laundry baskets or bags are stored along the hall [?] hall-narrow — Furniture narrows the hall so you turn sideways to pass [?] hall-floor-lip — The floor changes height between rooms — a carpet-to-tile lip Stairs (place 3) [?] stair-no-handrail — The stairs have no handrail at all [!] stair-one-side — There is a handrail on one side only [?] stair-rail-loose — The handrail is loose or wobbly, or stops before the last step [?] stair-carpet-loose — The stair carpet is worn, rucked, or lifting at a step edge [!] stair-clutter — Things are left on the stairs to take up later [?] stair-edge-contrast — The step edges are hard to tell apart — same colour, or a busy pattern [?] stair-switch-one-end — There is no light switch at both the top and the bottom of the stairs [?] stair-dim — The stairs are dim even with the light on Living room (place 1) [?] liv-chair-low — The chair is too low or too soft to stand up from without hauling on something [?] liv-rug-loose — A rug slides, ruckles or has curled edges [!] liv-cables — Lamp, TV or charger cables cross the floor [?] liv-low-table — A low table, footstool or magazine rack sits in the walking line [?] liv-pets — A pet lies or winds around your feet on a walking route Kitchen (place 1) [.] kit-high-shelf — Everyday things are stored above shoulder height [?] kit-stool-chair — A chair, a box or a wheeled stool is used for reaching [?] kit-spills — Spills and splashes are not wiped up straight away [?] kit-mat-loose — A loose mat sits in front of the sink or the cooker [?] kit-floor-slippy — The floor is slippery underfoot when it is wet Bathroom (place 3) [!] bath-grabrail-bath — There is no grab rail at the bath or in the shower [?] bath-grabrail-toilet — There is nothing solid to hold when getting up from the toilet [?] bath-slippy-surface — The bath or shower floor is slippery underfoot [!] bath-mat-loose — The bath mat on the floor slides on the tiles [?] bath-lean-on-fittings — You steady yourself on the basin, the towel rail or the shower screen [?] bath-floor-clutter — Bottles, baskets or a bin sit on the floor beside the bath [?] bath-door-inward — The bathroom door opens inwards and could not be opened if somebody fell against it Bedroom & the night-time route (place 2) [?] bed-no-reachable-light — There is no light you can switch on from the bed [?] bed-dark-route — The route from the bed to the bathroom is dark [?] bed-route-clutter — Shoes, bags or a laundry pile sit on the route from the bed to the door [?] bed-rug-bedside — A loose bedside rug is the first thing your feet land on [?] bed-height — The bed is so low, or so high, that getting out of it is a lurch Outdoor paths (place 2) [?] out-uneven-paving — Paving is lifted, cracked or has settled unevenly [?] out-moss — The path is green with moss or algae [?] out-path-clutter — A hose, tools, pots or a bin are left across the path [-] out-no-rail-slope — A sloped path or a garden step has nothing to hold [?] out-path-unlit — The path to the door is unlit Lighting throughout (place 2) [!] light-bulb-out — A bulb is out somewhere you walk [?] light-dim-landing — The landing or the hall is dim at night [?] light-switch-across-room — You have to cross a dark room to reach the light switch Give this to whoever can act on it: a family member, a landlord, an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist. Print it and write on it. Start with the free list — it is finished by teatime and it costs nothing.