F- CLINICAL ASPECTS OF SPINAL CORD INJURIES
613
This achievement, no doubt, represents the most satisfactory form of domestic re
settlement for paraplegics and should be aimed at as much as possible. Before their final
discharge, most patients are sent home first on leave in order to give them as well as their
relatives the opportunity to readjust themselves to the new scheme of living. At one stage
in the development of this Centre in 1945, the British Legion placed an old rectory in
Aylesbury at our disposal, which was converted into a 'home' in order to give married
and unmarried paraplegics, whose homes were not suitable for their reception, the
opportunity to spend several weeks with their families in an atmosphere similar to that
in their own homes. During their stay at 'Walton House', the men remained under the
medical supervision of the hospital, and wives and parents were instructed in the efficient
handling of their paralysed husbands and children.
This temporary domestic resettlement was discontinued as soon as other voluntary
organizations, the Government and, in particular, local authorities were in a position
to readjust the patients' own homes to their wheelchair lives. The principal requirements
for the adjustment of homes for paraplegics and tetraplegics can be summarized as
follows:
Outside requirements.
The entrance gateway and the concrete pathways should be level
and wide enough to take a wheelchair easily. Steps should be eliminated and replaced by
sloping paths.
A garage should be attached to the house, wide enough to admit a car and a wheel-
chair, to enable the paraplegic to get into and out of the car. Today, this is a condition
under which a paraplegic may receive a motorized conveyance under the regulations of
the Health Service in Great Britain. It is highly recommended that the garage doors
are opened electrically with the aid of an electronic £ eye'.
Doorways and hall.
Entrance should be level, or a step leading to the entrance should be
very low. Doorways and hallways need widening to allow easy access for a wheelchair.
Locks placed high in the door may need lowering. Handrails may be necessary in a hall
or passage to allow easy access and turning of a wheelchair into the living-room, kitchen,
toilet and bathroom, the door-frames of which should also be widened. The bottoms of
doors and wall corners should be protected with metal plates to avoid damage by the
wheelchair. Sliding doors have proved invaluable. The height of windows, cooking
stoves, sinks, cupboards, wash-basins, latches and electric light switches should be
adjusted to the height of the wheelchair users.
Bathroom.
The height of the W.C. and wash-basin should be level with the height of the
wheelchair, and the W.C. be provided with handrails to facilitate transfer from the chair
on to the W.C. Moreover, an overhead chain and grip may be necessary. The wash-basin
must be high enough to enable the wheelchair to go underneath. However, the metal
waste-pipe should be protected to prevent the insensitive knees and legs from being
burned by running hot water.
Bedroom.
Bedroom and bathroom should be preferably on the ground floor with easy
