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‘A world of difference’: New Changing Places toilets announced
New Changing Places toilets announced
PUBLIC PLACES AND TOURIST ATTRACTIONS ACROSS ENGLAND ARE SET TO BENEFIT FROM IMPROVED TOILET ACCESSIBILITY, AS £23.5 MILLION IN FUNDING IS ALLOCATED TO 191 COUNCILS.
Changing Places toilets are larger, accessible toilets with space for carers and equipment including a height adjustable changing bench, a peninsular toilet and a celling hoist. Having a Changing Places facility available can be essential for people with severe disabilities to travel and visit public places.
Robert Burley, Director of Care, Communications and Support at Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK), said: “Today’s announcement is lifechanging news for the thousands
of people and families who rely on Changing Places toilets when they are in public, because being able to use a toilet that is suitable for your needs is a basic human right.”
Campaigners such as Zack Kerr from Accringon, who have highlighted the issue of access to disabled toilets over recent years, celebrated the news, saying: “I have been a changing places campaigner for over 5 years now and so today’s news is amazing! It’s a day we’ve been campaigning and waiting for, for so long!” 26-year-old Zack, who has cerebral palsy, has campaigned for five years after struggling to appropriate facilities. “Life can be difficult enough in many ways, but when there are no accessible toilet facilities where I can be hoisted safely from my wheelchair and changed in privacy and with dignity, I face the choice between staying at home or restricting my social life because of my needs,” says Zack.
“That’s just not fair. No one should have to face these decisions because of the lack of basic toilet facilities, but whenever we want to leave our homes for a trip to the cinema, to a concert, for a day trip, to travel to see friends and family, or just to go shopping, we are faced with these difficult choices.”
While the number of Changing Places toilets is increasing, there are not currently enough to meet everyone’s needs and the number of people with complex disabilities is also increasing. When they’re not available, people are forced to resort to being cared for on dirty toilet floors, in cars, or using unsafe and inappropriate baby changing areas – or avoiding leaving the house or using the toilet altogether.
Sarah Rennie, a Changing Places campaigner from Birmingham says, “I can’t use typical accessible toilets because, without a hoist or changing bench, I can’t get from my wheelchair onto the toilet. This means that all too often, if I’m working in another city, attending a hospital appointment or going to a festival, I can expect to wait 12 hours without accessing a toilet.
“This can make me feel ill and be quite painful. Changing Places toilets offer me - and my assistant - a safe and dignified alternative. It’s such a relief to know that there will be more of these throughout England which gives me a better chance to find a loo I can use and go about my day like everyone else.”
This funding, recipients of which were published on 22nd March 2022, comes from a previously announced pledge of £30 million by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
New facilities will now be built in the following venues: • Public parks and open spaces • Tourist attractions including historic properties, seaside resorts and zoos • Cathedrals • Museums, theatres and galleries • Shopping malls • Libraries and public buildings
The next round of funding will concentrate on areas where there is very little or no access to Changing Places toilets, broadening access to these essential facilities. Robert Burley from MDUK says, “They really do make a world of difference to those who depends on them.”
