Introduction

The Issue

Dehydration is potentially harmful to basic health and may cause discomfort, distress, anxiety and frustration. The ability for a less able person, to drink when he or she wishes, would be beneficial for all those involved.

Our Solution and Aims 

• To provide a simple, versatile, affordable, quality product with broad appeal to people with disabilities of widely differing origin. Particularly those with very restricted mobility.
• To enable the User to maintain their own hydration, so improving independence and assisting to sustain general health and well-being.
• To free up Carer time for other activities.
• Financial savings may result incidentally from improved health of the person and/or reallocation of staff time, but the issue of independence remains paramount.

Drinkup in use

Less mobile people of all ages are currently using Drinkup to help them live more independently, particularly those with disabilities arising from:

• Parkinson's Disease
• Arthritis
• Stroke
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Motor Neurone Disease / Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Polio
• Cerebral Palsy
• Tetraplegia / Quadriplegia
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Drinkup has also benefited people in hospital and other professional care environments. Examples include; orthopaedic, surgical, burns, specialist spinal injury, elderly care and palliative care wards.

Set-up Variations

Drinkup can be set-up for use in different ways and in various positions. The length or reach of the arm and fluid tube can be adjusted to suit the user as follows:

• Short Set-up - Approximately 250mm (10¼") in reach
• Medium Set-up - Approximately 400mm (15¾") in reach
• Long Set-up - Approximately 550mm (21½") in reach
• Extra long Set-up - Approximately 700mm (27½") reach 

'Safe Siphon' Mode

Drinkup can also be set-up in a 'safe siphon' mode to assist those who have a weak suck-ability. This means, once the Carer has 'primed' the tube with the chosen drink, the User only has to bite gently on the bite valve without sucking. A slow trickle of drink will flow and stop as soon as the bite is released.

To use Drinkup in the 'safe siphon' mode, the unit must be placed above the head height of the User, either on a sideboard, a bedside locker, on a shelf or on the Mobilia Adjustable Height Floor Stand, as shown below. The 'safe siphon' mode is explained further in the Quick Start Guide and User Manual.

See Mobilia Mounting Solutions for more information.