26 July 2013
Changing Places campaign records first international success
A University of Dundee-led campaign to demand greater provision of facilities for those who require personal assistance to use public conveniences has recorded international success with the opening of the first 'toilet for all' in Germany.
PAMIS is a University-based charity that works with people with profound and multiple learning difficulties and their families. It launched the 'Changing Places, Changing Lives' campaign in 2006 to campaign for assisted changing toilets to be installed in public places across Scotland to allow freedom of movement and dignity for everyone.
Assisted changing toilets - known as Changing Places - are different to disabled toilets as they contain specialist equipment including hoists and adult-sized changing benches to allow those with complex disabilities to visit public conveniences more comfortably. Extra space is also incorporated to accommodate up to two carers.
The campaign has now reached the continent after PAMIS team members visited Germany and spoke at a number of major conferences on the topic of accessible leisure, describing the barriers to accessing activities for people with PMLD caused by the lack of Changing Places toilets.
This sparked the interest of Dr Nicola Maier-Michalitsch, who approached PAMIS and the Changing Places Consortium for advice and guidance on her project to see similar facilities installed across Germany. The collaboration has culminated in the opening of a 'toilet for all' in Munich city centre near the Haus der Kunst museum and Hofgarten, providing peace of mind for families wishing to visit these attractions.
The facility offers 24 hour access seven days a week, and meets the Changing Places standard. Campaigners in Germany will now work with the Changing Places team to establish 100 toilets for all across the country by 2015. They have received almost 300,000 EUR of funding from the German Government and they are using the work that has taken place in the UK as a model.
'We were delighted to be approached by our partners in Germany and asked to help them with their campaign,' said PAMIS Director Loretto Lambe. 'The challenges faced by people with PMLD and their families are the same across Europe and we are pleased to be able to help people in Germany.
'We look forward to continue to work with Dr Maier-Michalitsch and to make new connections with other groups and organisations at home and abroad.'
Other members of the Changing Places Consortium include MENCAP, the Centre for Inclusive Environment, Nottingham City Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council and The Scottish Government.
Founded 20 years ago, PAMIS is the only organisation in Scotland that works solely with people with profound and multiple learning difficulties and their families. People with such complex disabilities require a high level of support.
The majority are lifelong wheelchair users and are also likely to have sensory impairments with either vision or hearing affected, and in some cases, limitations to both senses. More than 230,000 people across the UK are estimated to require personal assistance to use the toilet. PAMIS is campaigning for 100 'Changing Places'-standard toilet facilities to be established across Scotland by 2015 as highlighted in 'Keys to Life', the new learning disability strategy in Scotland.
People with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families face many barriers to accessing and participating in the community. PAMIS works on a number of fronts to enable inclusion and improve their quality of life, and this campaign is one such venture.
The number of people with complex disabilities is growing and with an ageing population more people are likely to need access to Changing Places toilets in the future.
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
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