Anti slip floor treatments for Australian Aged Care Facilities

The wet areas in retirement homes and Australian aged care facilities unless laid before 2010 may not comply with current AS4568 2013 Slip Resistance standards. Up until 2010 these surfaces only had to demonstrate compliance to a “duty of care” and or local council requirement. The result of this minimum compliance was the continuing increase in slip fall incidents being reported. Fortunately compliance prior to 2010 included the installation of support rails and special access fittings has helped in limiting these incidents.
As Insurance and Public Liability providers continued to monitor slip fall incidents it became obvious that their existing clients whose flooring did not meet the newer standards were exposing the provider and the Aged Care Facility to an increased risk of litigation, as well as the clients in residence.
Ceramic tiles and vinyl flooring used in these older special access bathrooms, kitchens and public areas often exhibit a very low SCOF (Surface Co-Efficient of Friction) and there was little formal documented data to support the inherent slip risk, particularly when they were exposed to water contamination.
Today however there is ample documentation from not only Standards Australia, the C.S.I.R.O but many Insurance companies that have taken the time to investigate the underlying cause of these accidents.
It is now incumbent for Aged Care Facilities in Australia to conduct formalized NATA testing at their site to identify any areas of risk and then to ensure they undertake proactive actions to minimize these risks.
Friction Systems Australia specializes in this area of risk management and can provide solutions that will drastically reduce these risks. In carrying out these works we also assisting facility managers in demonstrating their “duty of care” compliance to meet their insurance cover requirements.
If you would like further information on our non slip floor solutions, or a quotation to reduce your risk, please follow this link http://www.frictionsystems.com.au/ or call us direct on (03)9808 8070