Tackling discrimination by specifying appropriate toileting facilities

21 Jul 2016

By failing to provide appropriate toileting facilities, public buildings are at risk of double-discrimination. Clos-o-Mat advises on the specification of a Changing Places or Space to Change WC to tackle this.

Recent research, which has been conducted by the Papworth Trust, has revealed that 17% of disabled people are dissatisfied with the location, size and layout of public bathroom facilities. Clos-o-Mat has argued that, in reality, the figure will be significantly higher.

This is due to the fact that many disabled children and adults require the support of a carer, and conventional wheelchair-accessible toilets are only able to accommodate one person. Failure to provide space for both people can be considered double-discrimination.

The Equality Act requires public venues to make reasonable adjustments to the built environment, to prevent a disabled person from being put at a substantial disadvantage.

Assisted accessible toilets are needed by around 5 million people – plus their carers – in Britain; thus, around 10 million people are potentially being discriminated against.

Specifying appropriate toileting facilities

A Space to Change toileting facility can be installed to remedy this. Building on the existing wheelchair-accessible toilet, which venues are legally obliged to provide, Space to Change WCs offer a total square footage of 7.5m, with a hoist and an adult-sized changing bench.

Alternatively, a Changing Places toilet can be installed in addition to a wheelchair-accessible facility. Under British Standards (BS8300:2009), Changing Places WCs boast 12 square metres of space, with a range of additional equipment: a privacy screen, ceiling track hoist and a height-adjustable adult-sized changing bench are all included.

Clos-o-Mat can supply all accessible equipment, in addition to delivering installation and project management services. It can also provide maintenance of the fixtures and support resources, such as CAD blocks and white papers on planning, legislative and best practice considerations.

Contact:

Closomat
Building 1, Brooklands Place,
Brooklands Road,
Sale,
Cheshire,
M33 6SD,
United Kingdom

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