Polysafe Flooring Offers Sustainable Slip Resistance At Care Home

Stockmoor Lodge is a modern, purpose-built nursing home with specialist dementia care provision that can accommodate up to 90 residents. Designed by The Drawing Room Interiors Ltd of Sutton Coldfield and furnished by YTM Furniture of Pontefract, this state of the art care home opened in March 2017.

Three safety flooring collections featuring sustainable wet slip resistance were used throughout communal areas and bathrooms within the care home – Polysafe Wood fx PUR wood effect flooring, Polysafe Hydro Evolve flooring for continually wet areas and Expona Control PUR luxury vinyl tiles.

The Sun Bleached Oak, Rustic Oak and Tropical Pine wood effect designs from the Polysafe Wood fx PUR safety flooring collection were selected by The Drawing Room Interiors Ltd for installation in lounge/ dining areas, activity rooms and the on-site hairdressing salon.

Polysafe Wood fx is a hard wearing sheet vinyl flooring which combines the authentic reproduction of wood with sustainable wet slip resistance to reduce the risk of slips and trips in residential or commercial areas. The vinyl includes virtually invisible aggregates which provide traction for underfoot safety without compromising the high clarity look of the floor. Ease of maintenance in high footfall areas is important and Wood fx’s cleanability is enhanced with Polysafe PUR, a cross-linked and UV cured polyurethane reinforcement to achieve superior cleaning benefits.

Expona Control PUR luxury vinyl tiles were chosen to create impressive design floors for the care home’s reception area and café. The Warm Grey Concrete design was fitted in a diamond layout and paired with a black grouting strip in reception, whilst the Light Elm design was used to create a herringbone pattern in the café. The innovative Expona Control PUR range of LVT safety flooring combines the design benefits of an LVT with the sustainable slip resistance of an HSE compliant safety floor suitable for commercial environments.

Subtle shades from the Polysafe Hydro Evolve safety flooring range (Colorado, Amazon and Blue Nile) were selected to provide sustainable wet slip resistance for both residents and carers in each bedroom’s en-suite bathroom, which feature walk in showers and adapted bathroom facilities. Polysafe Hydro Evolve is specifically designed to provide barefoot and shod slip resistance in continually wet areas thanks to its pimple emboss and built in safety particles.

The Polysafe Wood fx, Polysafe Hydro Evolve and Expona Control safety flooring ranges are all fully HSE Compliant and classified as low slip potential, achieving 36+ on the Pendulum Wet Test and meeting the 50,000 cycles abrasion test which assures slip resistance for the guaranteed life of the product.

Diana Cellela, Director of The Drawing Room Interiors Ltd commented, “These Polyflor safety flooring products were ideal for creating a safe yet non-clinical living environment for Stockmoor Lodge’s residents which was in line with the dementia-friendly design principles we work to. We have used a range of Polyflor’s flooring products on various care home projects and are continually impressed with the variety of beautiful designs offered and the performance delivered once installed.”

Safety flooring samples for any Polysafe range can be ordered free of charge on the Polyflor website or by calling the Polyflor Samples Direct Hotline on 0161 767 2551. Polyflor flooring contains recycled material and is 100% recyclable via the Recofloor vinyl take back scheme.

As a manufacturer of flooring suitable for dementia care facilities, Polyflor has recently become a member of the Dementia Action Alliance who are committed to transforming the lives of the 800,000 people living with dementia in the UK. Polyflor is also a longstanding partner of the International Dementia Design Network at the University of Salford. More information about dementia friendly flooring can be found in Polyflor’s “Specialist Care” brochure, available at http://www.polyflor.com