Total support for Changing Places

Thursday 08 April 2010

The Changing Places consortium has secured a brand new, sole sponsorship deal with disabled toileting solutions company Total Hygiene, for the ‘Changing Places, Changing Lives' campaign. This sponsorship deal will help to raise awareness of the need for suitable toilet facilities for disabled people who need the help of a carer.

The campaign calls for fully accessible toilets in all large public places for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and for people with other physical disabilities, such as those who have had a severe stroke. Without Changing Places toilets⁽¹⁾, carers are forced to change their loved-ones on dirty toilet floors or end up prisoners in their own homes.

Along with the success of this brand new sponsorship, the campaign has already seen some another great success - there are already 116 Changing Places facilities installed across the UK.

The Changing Places consortium comprises Mencap, Pamis, Centre for Accessible Environment, Nottingham City Council, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Valuing People Support Team and the Scottish Government.

Loretto Lambe, director of Pamis and co-chair of the consortium said: "We very much welcome the support from Total Hygiene. This will ensure that we can continue to promote these much needed facilities that will enables people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their carers to do all the things that the rest of us take for granted."

Brenda Mobbs, Mencap's corporate fundraising manager, added: "We've been delighted to help the consortium to get this funding from Total Hygiene. Their support gives the consortium the ability to seriously address the toileting needs of disabled people in the UK and carry the message through to all involved in the provision of facilities in the public environment."

Peter Willan, chair and CEO of Total Hygiene, said: "Total Hygiene has been working in this specialist market for over 30 years and is the UK's biggest supplier of specialist accessible toileting solutions. It is therefore fitting we lend our backing to the Changing Places, Changing Lives campaign, not just financially, but with technical and marketing support, to help ‘spread the word' as widely and effectively as possible, and help build the structure of a fully inclusive community."

For further information on the campaign visit http://www.changing-places.org/.

ENDS

For further information please contact Jenny Brannan at Mencap on 020 7696 6017 or email jenny.brannan@mencap.org.uk.

Clos-o-Mat telephone number for publication: 0161 969 1199/ freefone 0800 374076; e: info@clos-o-mat.com

Notes to Editor

The Changing Places Consortium consists of Mencap, PAMIS, Nottingham City Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, the Department of Health Valuing People Support Team, the Scottish Government and the Centre for Accessible Environments.

'Standard accessible toilets' is a term that people with a disability prefer. People with a disability have told the consortium members that they find the term ‘standard disabled toilets' offensive.

People who need a Changing Places toilet include those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, some people who have had a severe stroke, some people with acquired head injuries and some frail and elderly people.

A Changing Places Toilet is a fully accessible toilet with a height-adjustable changing bench, a hoist and enough space for up to 2 carers.