The Toto Washlet toilet: at the press of a button, a jet of clean warm water sprays your nether regions; press another button and warm air dries them. The sleek bowl, a masterpiece of Japanese technology, can be fixed at the right height for your use, ensuring easy access. At around £3,000 this stylish, ultramodern feature will transform your bathroom routine – and your carer’s life.
Gone is the ignominy of wiping bottoms, gone the back-breaking hoisting of their charge onto the toilet. As their role is shorn of some of its more humbling aspects, the carer’s satisfaction improves, their status takes a giant leap forward, and they are free to spend more ‘quality time’ with their charge. If the government were to commit to buying these new-fangled toilets in bulk for even only 5 per cent of individuals looked after by working-age unpaid carers each year (about 175,000) they could drive down the price considerably, and potentially see some unpaid carers returning to at least part time work.
The NHS, too, would benefit from a social care system that runs smoothly
Toto is just one of many innovations the government has at its disposal to address our social care crisis.
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