The Changing Places Consortium

Thousands of people need the Changing Places toilets that would help them to enjoy the day to day activities many of us take for granted.

www.changing-places.org

Changing Places (CPs) can change lives and the CP campaign is steadily growing, locally, regionally and nationally , on behalf of people who cannot use ‘standard’ accessible toilets.

A day out to a shopping centre, a concert, anywhere more than a few hours from the facilities at home, is impossible without needing to change the pads and/or clothing of a disabled teenager or adult on the – probably dirty - floor of a standard unisex toilet. This just cannot be acceptable in this day and age, not to mention the high risk of strain and injury in moving and lifting.

Over 40,000 people, children and adults would benefit from Changing Place (CP) toilets with enough space and the right equipment, including a height adjustable changing bench and a hoist. Indeed British Standard 8300:2009, the important national code of practice for architects, builders and planners now formally recommends a Changing Place for all larger buildings and complexes .

To date, over 90 CPs have been installed across the UK in shopping centres, museums and theatres. Follow the link below and you can find the location of Changing Places on a UK Map and search for location details. www.changing-places.org . Please make use of any opportunities you have to promote CPs in your area, not just the initial physical installation, but letting others know of their location, access groups, special schools, disability representative organisations, even using the local press and radio. Find out from ChangingPlaces@mencap.org.uk who is already active in your area. Remember daytime CPs change lives, alongside having hoists in overnight accommodation, hotels, guesthouses and self-catering places, that CHuC has been working for.

There is a long way to go, but it is so true that Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM), by writing and actively campaigning. Don’t leave it to others . We need to see CPs in all these following places.

• Major transport termini or interchanges, e.g. large railway stations and airports
• Motorway service areas
• Sport and leisure facilities, including large hotels, zoos, theme parks
• Cultural centres, such as museums, concert halls and art galleries
• Stadia and large auditoria
• Shopping centres and shopmobility centres
• Key buildings within town centres, e.g. town halls, civic centres and main public libraries
• Educational establishments
• Health facilities, such as hospitals, health centres and community practices.
  

  

CHuC and Changing Places

The Changing Places Consortium are a complimentary organisation to CHuC. CP are working to encourage Councils, Public Bodies and Private Organisations to provide accessible toilets with changing facilities and ceiling hoists so that those disabled people who need this type of facility can go about their daily lives as near normally as the rest of us. CHuC encourages accommodation providers to provide overnight accommodation with ceiling track hoists and the resulting outcome of the two organisations campaigning should mean that disabled people have places to stay and can enjoy the freedom to explore without having to stay close to home or a hotel. There is a long way to go to achieve the goal but we are on the road...