Making better use of existing toilet
space could help grow the customer base.
Research shows that 20% of the
average business’ customers are disabled- people who spend £80billion a year. For
many of 5million people with special needs, they can’t spend that money where
they want because they can’t go to the toilet whilst at that restaurant, coffee
shop, cinema, department store, shopping centre, supermarket. Yet many
wheelchair-accessible toilets in those locations already have the space needed
(7.5m2), and only require the addition of a couple of fixtures.
“Hundreds of thousands of adults and
children with disabilities need a carer to help them with their toilet
requirements, and often also need equipment- a changing bench and hoist,”
explains campaigner Samantha Buck. “Even in my local town, I have been
surprised to realise how many wheelchair-accessible toilets already have that
space. We just need them to also have a bench and hoist added: the changing
bench is less than 2m long, and a ceiling track hoist takes up no space at all!
“In an ideal world, we’d like a full
assisted accessible- Changing Places- toilet in addition to the standard
wheelchair accessible facility, but that takes up an extra 12m2
under British Standards. Making better use of existing facilities, and turning
them into Space to Change toilets by including an adult-sized changing bench
and hoist is an acceptable compromise, which means families like mine can spend
time doing what ‘normal’ families do- shopping, having a meal together, going
to the cinema.”
Space to Change was developed by
campaigners and leading disabled toilet solutions company Clos-o-Mat to bridge
the gap between conventional wheelchair-accessible (Document M type) toilets
and full-specification Changing Places facilities, to provide an acceptable
alternative where space and/or cost is a limiting factor. Firefly Community, an
online special needs community, is driving the campaign, supporting campaigners
and raising awareness of the need for accessible toilets that include height
adjustable changing benches and hoists.
Full details of the Space To Change
concept, and its larger Changing Places assisted accessible toilet, can be
found at www.clos-o-mat.com and http://community.fireflyfriends.com/campaigns/spac....
Clos-o-Mat’s website also includes full support data, including white papers,
CAD blocks, video, technical specifications and typical layouts. Uniquely,
Clos-o-Mat offers, in-house, a full support service, encompassing site surveys,
design advice, supply, installation, commissioning and subsequent service &
maintenance.
