Care Management Group boosts independence for residents

31 Mar 2017

Care Management Group needed a way to keep fire doors open safely and legally. Freedor was installed which allowed doors to be held open at any angle. This helped residents feel more independent, while allowing staff to keep an eye on everything that was going on.

Care Management Group (CMG) has been supporting adults with learning disabilities since 1996. The company has 140 services across England and South Wales, and has a strong ethos of putting the ptople they support and their families at the heart of what they do. 

One of CMG’s properties in Charmandean Road, Worthing, West Sussex, has eight full-time residents. The happiness and well-being of everyone that lives there is paramount to staff, and they create a safe and fun environment, providing support, as well as social, communication and life skills, helping residents to gain more independence.

The property’s fire doors were causing a problem as there were only two options: fully open or closed. As it was important for staff to be able to hear activity throughout the building, doors had to be kept open during the day. This meant residents didn’t enjoy as much privacy as they would like, and there was an added problem of interrupted sleep at night.

Manager Jenny Broadway needed a solution: “It so important for us to give our residents privacy to enjoy their lives but with the staff still able to hear and monitor in case anyone needs assistance. It’s also necessary to keep our residents safe by checking on them during the night. Unfortunately this would often involve accidentally waking residents, as we’d need to fully open the door. The noise of the door, and the light that would shine into the room, would regularly disturb sleepers.”

For Jenny and her staff, finding a way to balance the privacy and independence of residents, with the ability to always be able to monitor what was going on, was key. Keeping fire doors open just a fraction while still complying with regulations was what was needed, so Fireco’s Freedor system was installed throughout the residence. With Freedor, fire doors can be held open at any angle, and they will close automatically when a fire alarm sounds. This offered a safe and easy solution to the problem, with the added bonus of ensuring compliance with fire regulations.

In the two months since Freedor was installed, Jenny has noticed a real difference: “Our residents are much more relaxed and our staff are more confident. With the doors only open slightly, residents are free to enjoy their day without being unnecessarily disturbed, but we always know we’ll be able to hear as soon as anyone needs us.”

As doors can be kept ajar, nights are happier for everyone “We can just pop our head round the door to check on people, so there’s no need to open the door and let in the light,” said Jenny. “Everyone has been benefiting from better sleep, which is great for everyone’s health and happiness.”

Faye Doncaster, Health and Safety Advisor for CMG, recommends Freedor to service managers, as it has helped makes lives easier for many of those in the company’s care. “Our residents, particularly those that are a bit older, struggled with heavy fire doors. Freedor really takes the weight away, and we like the fact that the door can be held open at any angle.”

Both Jenny and Faye found installation a smooth process. Faye said: “It was so helpful that whenever I contacted Fireco, I always spoke to the same person. They knew who I was, and what I needed, and this continuous support made everything so much easier.”

Fireco Ltd
Website
T: 01273 320650

5 Grange Road
BN42 4DQ
Southwick, Brighton
United Kingdom

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