Signage and Falls: What Wayfinding Can and Cannot Do
Signage is one of the environmental factors a care home records when it reviews a fall. This article covers only the signage part of that review: whether the door a resident is heading for can be identified from where they start, at the distance and the light level they will actually see it.
Falls are among the most closely recorded incidents in any care home, and the environment around a fall -- lighting, flooring, and whether the resident could tell where they were going -- is part of what providers are expected to review afterwards. This article covers only the signage part of that review. We make no claim that a sign prevents a fall; what a sign does is tell a resident which door is which, and that is something you can check.
What a Sign Does, and What It Does Not Do#
A sign does one thing. At the moment a resident is looking for somewhere, it tells them which door is which and which way to turn. It changes nothing about anyone's mobility, balance or medication. What it can do is make the toilet door identifiable from the lounge, the bedroom door identifiable from the corridor, and the en-suite door distinguishable from the wardrobe beside it -- at the distance and the light level the resident will be reading it from.
What to check on the routes residents use most:
- Is the nearest toilet signed so that the sign is visible from every communal seat, not just from the corridor outside it?
- Is there a directional sign at every junction, so that no turn has to be guessed?
- Does each sign have enough contrast against the door and the wall behind it to be picked out without close inspection?
- Is the letter height large enough to be read from where the resident starts, rather than from arm's length?
- Is the en-suite bathroom door inside each bedroom distinguishable from the wardrobe and cupboard doors next to it?
- Are the signs on night-time routes still legible at the light levels the building actually runs after dark?
Free download · 12 signs · print today
Free printable door signs for your care home
Twelve dementia-friendly door signs — toilet, bathroom, bedroom, dining room, lounge, kitchen, stairs, exit. Print them on A4 this afternoon and put them up.
Contrast and Letter Height#
Two things decide whether a sign can be read: the contrast between the lettering and its background, and the height of the letters relative to how far away the reader is standing. Both are measurable before anything is ordered. Hold the proposed sign at the door and look at it from the place a resident would first need it -- the lounge doorway, the far end of the corridor, the bedside chair. If you cannot read it from there, a larger letter height or a higher-contrast colour pairing is the fix, not a second sign.
Pro Tip
Include a signage check in your falls risk assessment paperwork. When a fall is reviewed, record what was signed and what was legible at that spot, at that time of day. If the same unsigned junction or unlit corridor keeps appearing, that is the part of the environment to look at first.
Check every sign from a seated eye level as well as standing. A sign set for a standing adult can be hidden by a door frame, a trolley or another person once the reader is in a chair.
Signage on Night-Time Routes#
Night is when signs are hardest to read. Corridor and bedroom light levels are deliberately low, and a sign that is perfectly legible at midday can be invisible at three in the morning. Position signs where a nightlight or low-level corridor lighting actually falls on them, and walk the route in the dark rather than assuming. En-suite bathroom doors matter most here, because they sit beside wardrobe and cupboard doors of the same size, colour and finish.
Recommended Products
Our DSDC 1A-accredited signs feature high-contrast designs that remain visible in lower light conditions. The textured 3D print on 5mm solid white acrylic provides tactile identification for residents navigating by touch. Consider pairing with door decals on toilet and bathroom doors for maximum visibility.
Signage is not a falls intervention and we do not sell it as one. It is the part of the environment that tells a resident which door is which. Reviewing it costs nothing, it is easy to document, and it is one of the few environmental factors a home can change in an afternoon.
Free download · 12 signs · print today
Free printable door signs for your care home
Twelve dementia-friendly door signs — toilet, bathroom, bedroom, dining room, lounge, kitchen, stairs, exit. Print them on A4 this afternoon and put them up.
Get the 12 signsRelated Articles
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