Apparatus and method for bathing invalids

摘要

An arrangement for bathing invalids, or others with impaired ambulatory ability, comprises an enclosure (2) having a bathtub (3) and upstanding walls (4) which form a stall. The bathtub includes a seat (14, 15, 16) having an anatomical contour and a lateral opening adjacent the seatto permit invalid ingress and egress. A door (7) with a generally wedge-shaped contour mates with and selectively closes the bathtub opening, and includes a seal (8) compressed between the lip (6) of the opening and the door to form a seal which is sufficiently leakproof to permit immersal bathing of a seated invalid. The door is slideably mounted on a hingeless track assembly (59), which vertically translates the door into the closed position and pivots the door as it is raised into a horizontal, overhead storage position. Shower heads (10) are mounted on the walls of the stall to provide both shower and immersal bathing for hygiene and therapy. The bathtub seat and opening are mutually orientated so as to permit an attendant to move the invalid laterally from a wheelchair directly onto the bathtub seat with minimum strain and hazard.