Having the right bathroom for your personal needs is about ensuring your physical safety and helping you keep your independence. This is a priority when designing and installing our bathrooms, explains Lee Brand, owner and manager of Access and Mobility Bathrooms.

About us:

Access and Mobility Bathrooms is a Hertfordshire based, family owned and run, bathroom adaptation company that covers a wide area from their Hertfordshire base. Lee Brand  has 30 years of experience in design and installation in the adaptation industry. We asked Lee why Access and Mobility bathrooms are different from the big national companies that work throughout the UK.

Lee said: "Throughout my years in this niche industry I have worked for many of the larger companies, starting in installations and working right through to senior adaptation surveyor. I have always made it clear that the customers' needs must come first.

"However, when you’re working for these high pressure direct sales companies this is very hard to integrate, the factor of high costs to the customer was another great concern to me. After running a new venture for another family-owned adaptation company it became clear to me that there are 2 sides to this industry.

"By using a regional family-owned business, it’s not all about the sales. Instead, the customer attention and detail to the designing and installation is foremost and paramount. Without large offices, warehouses and showrooms over heads are kept to a minimum, meaning the end costs to our customers can be kept down whilst also maintaining excellent quality of products and workmanship.

"We are proud to be members of the British Health Care Trade Association for which we follow a strict code of practice to ensure you're only quoted for what you request and need to create a safe bathing environment."

The Comet:

Q: Why is safe bathing so important?

A: Regular bathing is something we all do. It is the most natural thing in the world, and it is important that – whatever your mobility issue or disability might be – you are able to do it safely. Our customers need to be able to bathe safely to minimise the risk of a fall or other injury so they can keep their physical health as long as possible. They also need to make sure that people can get to them easily if there is an accident. We want to keep them safe in their own home, while also ensuring they have as much independence as possible.

Q: What do you offer customers at Access and Mobilty Bathrooms?

A: A complete and versatile service that is individual and meets their needs from a safety point of view, while also considering personal tastes and preferences. Creating a safe bathing environment is very much about how a bathroom is designed and laid out and we really take our time over this, whether it's fitting a walk-in shower or bath or completely transforming the bathroom into a wet room.

The individual customer is at the heart of every design. I meet them and carry out a free home visit and quotation, with no obligation. I do all the drawings and designs, with their input and taking their budget into account. We also try to future-proof it as much as possible. There is no point fitting something that is only going to have to be replaced in a few years time.

As a team, we then use our own trades people to carry out the whole installation. We also recycle everything that has come out of the old bathroom, and we conduct electrical tests.

Q: Does being able to bathe safely have positive mental benefits?

A: Yes. People feel so much better when they can bathe safely at home. It means they are able to bathe much more regularly, and it lifts the anxiety from their shoulders. Keeping clean brings about a sense of feeling better in yourself. It can also allow you to stay in your own home for longer – and some of our customers have lived in their homes for up to 50 years.

Some also have carers and having a safe bathing environment can avert the need to move into residential care. The longer people can stay at home, the better they tend to do mentally and physically.

Q: Working so closely with your customers, do you see a difference after they have had one of your bathrooms fitted?

A: Without question. If someone does not feel safe, it plays up with them mentally, but for many this anxiety can be completely removed by creating the safe bathing environment. We get so much feedback from our customers and their families. They tell us how much better they feel – and their children say the same.

For more information visit www.accessmobilitybathrooms.co.uk call 01438 561681 or email info@accessmobiltybathrooms.co.uk