8 September 2009
Campaign moves forward with the presentation of petition
A campaign to improve toilet facilities for people with profound and multiple learning difficulties took another step forward today when a petition bearing more than 3000 signatures was presented at the Scottish Parliament.
PAMIS – a charity based at the University of Dundee – had also visited Holyrood last week to celebrate the launch of the new British Standard 8300:2009. This will ensure that all newly built public buildings will include a Changing Places toilet, which is larger than a standard disabled toilet and with enough space for two carers to work, and include a height-adjustable changing bench and a hoist.
Linda Burke, a parent and carer, presented the petition, which calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that local authorities use the British Standard 8300:2009 to ensure that at least one public toilet built to Changing Places standard is provided within each centre of each town with a population greater than 15,000 and within each new larger publicly accessible building and complex.
PAMIS and MENCAP are leading the Changing Places, Changing Lives campaign, but there are almost 20 organisations which together form the Changing Places Consortium.
“The number of signatories that the petition attracted demonstrates the public support for this campaign,” said Loretto Lambe, Director of PAMIS.
“The inclusion of Changing Places Toilets in the new British Standard is a huge step forward and will make a dramatic difference to the lives of thousands of people with a range of disabilities across the UK who need access to these facilities. Without Changing Places toilets their lives are severely restricted.”
The campaign has been working for several years to get these standards included in the building regulations. Without Changing Places toilets people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well as people with physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis & muscular dystrophy are forced to stay at home or their family carers have to resort to changing them on dirty toilet floors.
The Changing Places campaign is aiming to ensure that there is at least one public toilet built to the Changing Places standard in every town centre with a population greater than 15,000 and within each new public building such as shopping centres, concert halls, railway stations etc.
PAMIS aims to ensure that people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are valued both as individuals and in the contribution they make to the community, and that:
• they should receive all the support needed to realise their full potential;
• their right to a full life shaped by personal choice, abilities and needs underlies all provision and policy affecting their lives; and
• the knowledge and experience of family carers is recognised, and that their views are fully taken into account in service development.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
