100 Changing Places toilets

Thursday 30 July 2009

Thanks to the support of campaigners, there are now 100 Changing Places toilets in the UK

The Tinsley Green Children’s Centre in Sheffield this week opened its Changing Places toilet – marking the 100th facility in the UK.

The milestone is welcome news to the Changing Places Consortium (a group of organisations including Mencap), which has been calling for Changing Places toilets to be installed in big public places. Throughout this year’s Learning Disability Week (22-28 June) Mencap held a series of events to raise awareness and gain support for the campaign.

Changing Places toilets include a hoist, a height-adjustable changing bench and plenty of space. Standard disabled toilets do not meet the needs of nearly quarter of a million people in the UK, including 40,000 people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Mencap’s campaigns support officer Mark Gale said: “The progress that is being made, especially over recent weeks, is welcome and great news for the thousands of people who are able to enjoy days out with their families as a result.

“However, there are 230,000 people in the UK who would benefit from Changing Places toilets. This means that more Changing Places toilets are still needed, and we will be looking forward to watching the continued growth in the number of toilets as a result of the campaign.”

You can still get involved in supporting the campaign by signing the online petition calling for the government to make sure that all new public buildings have a Changing Places toilet.

Support the Changing Places campaign