Toilet Day 2022

 It is world toilet day on the 19^th of November, this is where we celebrate toilets and make people aware the issues of getting access to a toilet.

Even although I have a disability, I am not one for thinking everyone must feel sorry for me. I don’t let my disability get in the way. But when it comes to getting access to a toilet which meets my needs and I can’t get that, I do feels sorry for myself. It feels terrible when I can’t get access to a toilet which meets my needs.

 

For anyone who doesn’t know me, I am in a wheelchair, and I need to be hoisted on and out from my wheelchair like when I go to the toilet.  But sadly for 2022 not everywhere has a toilet which meets my needs!

 

Standard accessible toilets do not meet the needs of all people with a disability. Over ¼ million people in the UK with a disability need extra equipment and space to allow them to use the toilets safely and comfortably. These needs are met by Changing Places toilets. So, a changing places toilet has all the right equipment in it such as a hoist, a changing bed and it is very big to move around for a wheelchair user and 2 carers.

Today in Glasgow there is just about 23 of these toilets which it is quite poor and because of this I can’t go anywhere without thinking about worrying about if I will get to the toilet.   Really finding somewhere I can go to and where has a Changing Places is a part of my life now.  And it seems daft worrying about getting to a toilet but going to  the toilet is a basic right for everyone.

 

 

Recently I got a job with BBC The Social making videos and I found it hard to find somewhere that I can be filmed and have a Changing Places. Even although I found somewhere in the end, I was very upset that I finally have this job that I had waited so long to get, but I still faced barriers to do my job.

 

On another experience, there is a new Range just opened on Great Western Road and because it is a new building I thought there would be a changing places toilet in it but sadly not!  When I discovered that there wasn’t a Changing Places, I was very angry and upset that there wasn’t. I just think that it is terrible for a new building not to have included a Changing Places facility.

 

So I guess my message on this Toilet Day is you should be lucky that you can get access to a toilet anywhere you go, because there is a lot of people like myself finds this really difficult!!

Written by Jill