Wiltshire optimises access for all…
Wiltshire Council has created a new services hub that is configured to accommodate current, and future, population issues.
The Council has revamped its County Hall in Trowbridge, as part of its plan to reduce the number of its hubs from over 90 to just three to making more effective use of available funds in a programme expected to save taxpayers £85m over the next 25 years.
Simultaneously, the County Hall facilities have been enhanced for the community – right through to improved toilet facilities for the disabled and elderly.
The new atrium features a main reception, library and restaurant, also features a Changing Places toilet, for people who need the help of at least one carer. The council plans to install similar facilities in its future campuses, to optimize accessibility to its services.
Supplied and installed by Total Hygiene, the UK’s largest provider of disabled toileting solutions and sponsor of the Changing Places campaign, the toilet is larger than a conventional accessible (Document M) toilet and has additional equipment, including a height adjustable changing bench and hoist
Explains Robin Tuffley, Total Hygiene marketing manager, ‘On average we visit the toilet eight times a day! If you are in a wheelchair, need someone to help you because of disability or illness, many ‘out of home’ washrooms aren’t suitable: carers end up having to change their loved ones on the floor, or curtailing their visit into town.
Mark Stone, Transformation Director at Wiltshire Council, said
These toilets afford individuals and their carers an opportunity to continue with a way of life that would otherwise be restricted. We have deliberately positioned it on the ground floor with easy access to the library and restaurant, and plan to fit Changing Places toilets in each of our future campuses.
In the UK, there are over 10m registered disabled people, and in England alone almost 2m wheelchair users. Since the Changing Places campaign began over 400 Changing Places toilets have been opened across the UK. In the last year alone, over 50 Changing Places toilets have been opened at venues across the country.
