Home safety checklist for aging in place

The bathroom, first

1. Fit a grab bar at the shower or bath entry, screwed into studs. Not suction.
2. Fit a second bar inside the shower, and one beside the toilet.
3. Put a non-slip mat inside the shower and a second on the floor outside it.
4. Add a shower chair if standing for ten minutes is tiring, and a handheld shower head to go with it.
5. Raise the toilet seat, or add a frame with arms, if standing up is a struggle.
6. Put a night light on the route from bed to bathroom — a motion-sensor one needs no switch.

Lighting and the night route

• Motion-sensor night lights along the bedroom-to-bathroom route. The single highest-value item on this page after grab bars.
• A lamp within reach of the bed, or a touch lamp that does not need a small switch found in the dark.
• Brighter bulbs everywhere. Ageing eyes need considerably more light than younger ones to see the same edge.
• Light switches at both ends of every hallway and staircase.
• A flashlight in a known place, and a check that it works.

Floors and routes

• Remove loose rugs, or fix them down with double-sided carpet tape. Loose rugs are the classic trip hazard and people defend them fiercely.
• Clear the walking routes of cables, magazine racks, footstools and pet bowls.
• Check carpet edges and thresholds for lifting, and fix any that catch a toe.
• Keep the route from the bed to the bathroom completely clear — this is the route walked half asleep.
• Move everyday items to between hip and shoulder height so neither a stool nor a deep bend is needed.

Stairs

• Handrails on both sides, firmly fixed, running the full length including the top and bottom steps.
• Light switches at both top and bottom.
• Contrast tape on the edge of the first and last step, where misjudgement happens.
• Nothing stored on the stairs. Ever.
• If stairs have become genuinely difficult, consider whether the bedroom can move downstairs before considering a stairlift.

Kitchen and living areas

• Everyday crockery and pans between hip and shoulder height.
• A sturdy step stool with a handrail if a high shelf must be used — never a chair.
• A chair with arms, at a height where standing up is possible unaided.
• A kettle that tips or pours without lifting, if wrists are weak.
• A fire extinguisher and a working smoke alarm on every floor, tested monthly.

The things that are not about equipment

A medication review with a doctor or pharmacist. Several common medicines cause dizziness or low blood pressure on standing, and combinations do it more. This is one of the highest-value fall-prevention actions available and it costs nothing.

An eye test, with glasses updated. Bifocals are worth discussing specifically — they distort depth perception on stairs, and some people do better with a separate pair for walking.

Strength and balance exercise, which is the only thing on this entire page that reduces fall risk at the source rather than managing its consequences.

Shoes. Slippers without backs are implicated in a lot of falls. A proper slipper with a back and a non-slip sole is a cheap, unglamorous improvement.

This is general information, not medical advice. If there has been a fall, ask the doctor for a falls assessment — most areas have a structured one.