Some new homes in Carshalton, London, are setting higher standards in disabled accommodation, and not just by adding extra facilities like bath lifts and disabled toilets. These purpose-built homes have been designed from the ground up, with special attention paid to disabled requirements.

Sutton Council has to be widely applauded.  Not just for the development but also for the sentiment behind it.  Rather than push disabled people to one side and marginalise them, the new houses are designed specifically to “offer dignity and respect for people with learning disabilities.”  At last, a council that values its disabled residents.

The flats couldn’t have come too soon for the new tenants, changing their lives and allowing them to live in a far more independent manner than they could otherwise have done, even with the help of existing mobility support technologies like walk-in baths & showers. Located at Ashcombe Court, the tenants have only just moved into their new homes, yet they are already beginning to see the benefits of the new design and technologies available.

Funded by the Health Department, NHS Sutton and the Merton & Progress Care Housing Association, the flats were built for residents of Orchard Hill Hospital, England’s last long-stay health facility for adults with learning disabilities. Inspiringly, and in a sign that disabled people are now able to influence decision-making policy at local levels of Government, the flats were designed after considerable consultations with patients’ relatives, support staff, carers and advocates.  More applause.

The single-bed, self-contained flats feature open plan kitchen/lounges, bedrooms and bathrooms tailored to the specific needs of those who have to use large wheelchairs. The latest assistive technology and equipment have also been installed, like seizure sensors, which help to ensure that the tenants can live as independently as possible.

That’s not all; the development also includes sleeping areas for caring staff, communal lounge, shared laundry, and a couple of additional spa bathrooms. There’s also an innovative ‘sensory garden’ for the residents. An individual support plan is drawn up for each tenant in order to help him/her live comfortably within the community and to help them access local shops and services.

Ashcombe Court has raised the bar in providing disabled people with accommodation designed to enhance their quality of life (and not just ‘survive it’ in any way they can). The very first of its type in the UK, the total cost for the project comes to about £3 million.

Launch photo at Ashcombe Court

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It’s quite simply a magnificent achievement and if the project could be rolled out nationwide it would transform the quality of life for tens of thousands of severely disabled UK citizens.  It would also put us on a par with the Scandinavian nations who have traditionally been light years ahead of us in terms of caring for our disabled.

It’s not as though we don’t have the money either.  If we can find £million bonuses for the staff of UK-owned RBS Bank, can’t we find the same for our disabled sufferers?  Something to ponder.