Fife Council
Changing Places - Changing Lives
(in Partnership with PAMIS)
1.
Background
1.1
What is a Changing Places / PAMIS facility?
A Changing Places or PAMIS facility is a full sized adult changing
room, equipped with hoists and changing bed to enable people with
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) the right to use a
toilet with the same dignity and privacy that we expect ourselves.
Often, someone with PMLD has little or no control over their bodily
functions, which can result in the need for a shower and a full change
of clothes.
Whilst there has been much progress in the provision of accessible
WC’s, in all but a very few cases these are unusable by people with
PMLD and their carers due to room size and equipment limitations.
This leads to the unacceptable scenario where people with PMLD are
either restricted to their own homes, or at best within their Day Care
facility, if available. They simply do not have the same opportunities
for accessing the built environment that most of us take so much for
granted.
People with PMLD generally have a high degree of dependency in
accessing goods and services. This is usually provided by family
members or day care services, or a combination of the two.
Changing Places have long been campaigning for the provision of
these adult changing facilities to make the built environment, goods
and services, and access to cultural and leisure services more
accessible to people with PMLD. After joining forces with the Profound
and Multiple Impairment Service UK (PAMIS) they successfully
campaigned to achieve a change in the British Standard (on the
Design of Buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of
disabled people BS 8300:2009), to include a full sized adult changing
facility (figure 58).
To quote from the PAMIS website:
‘The lack of suitable changing facilities in toilets for people with
disabilities is one of the most restrictive practical problems preventing
families from going out.
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Families are reduced to changing their daughters or sons on toilet
floors.
This is undignified, unhygienic and involves heavy lifting by the
carers with the potential to cause serious damage to their backs.
This results in families opting to stay at home which increases
isolation and lack of stimulus.
Changing Places is a national campaign with the aim of ensuring that
'standard accessible toilets' (disabled toilets) are made fully
accessible. The campaign was initially started by PAMIS who have
now joined forces with other groups to form the Changing Places
Consortium. Over 170 organisations and agencies across the UK are
supporting the Consortium's 'Changing Places' campaign. The
Consortium is also working with MPs/MSPs/Assembly members,
service providers and the British Toilet Association to bring about
change. The Consortium achieved a major step forward when they
were successful in getting the standards for Changing Places facilities
incorporated into the British Standards BS8300:2009. Architects &
Designers should seek every opportunity to use these standards when
they are designing new public buildings.’
1.2
What does a Changing Places Toilet incorporate?
The requirements of a Changing Places facility are as follows:
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an adult sized, height adjustable changing bench which is either
wall mounted or free standing
a ceiling tracking or a mobile hoist
a peninsular (centrally placed) toilet
a privacy screen or curtain
a large bin for pads
an emergency alarm
a paper roll
a non slip floor
adequate space for a disabled person when they are not in their
wheelchair, their wheelchair and one or two carers. The standard
minimum size was 7m2 in 2006; it has now been revised to 12m2
(3m x 4m), BS8300:2009 (fig 58)
Clearly, not all Fife Council properties will be able to accommodate or
afford such a size of room and its accompanying equipment.
However, to not actively seek out reasonable opportunities to provide
such a facility is not an option either.
1.3
Changing Places layout:
2.
Proposal
Proposal:
That Fife Council supports PAMIS in its aim of providing Changing
Places facilities. It should do this by strategically identifying such
properties as can be reasonably adapted to accommodate this facility.
That Fife Council endeavours to provide enough Changing Places
facilities as to allow people with PMLD and their carers the same
rights to accessing goods & services as everyone else in Fife.
That Fife Council works with Services, the AAG and PAMIS to identify
opportunities to broaden the provision of cultural and leisure facilities
to people with PMLD throughout Fife.
That Lochore Meadows Country Park be assisted to becoming a
‘centre of excellence’ for all Fife Council residents, especially those
with PMLD.
As part of any major property project or refurbishment, Fife Council
will endeavour to include such a facility, wherever reasonably
achievable. This is the case in major initiatives such as Building Fife’s
Future programme of delivering new schools in Fife, and with the
Office Rationalisation Project at Brunton House, Cowdenbeath.
An initial 7 Fife Council properties were identified as being suitable for
a Changing Places facility and funded from the Access Capital budget
for 2010-11. There is no Capital funding available specifically for
improving Access to public buildings for 2011-12, and in this current
economic climate it is unlikely any will be identified.
Therefore, it is vital that Services work together to identify areas of
common interest, so that limited budgets can be combined together to
achieve the maximum possible result.
When delivering major new build or refurbishment projects to
important public buildings, Fife Council should set a ‘trigger level’
whereby there is a presumption that a Changing Places facility be
provided as a matter of course. It is proposed that this level be set at
£300,000. Services will work with the Access Officer to identify which
public properties are suitable for such a facility.
Should the responsible client officer for the project feel that it is not
suitable, or falls outwith being a ‘reasonable request’, then they will
write a report justifying their reasoning and submit it for consideration
by the AAG.
This proposal to be regularly reviewed and developed.
Robert Ferguson
Access Officer
Fife Council
Robert.Ferguson@fife.gov.uk
08451 55 55 55 ex 446519
(Reviewed & amended Nov 11 – YB)
(Reviewed & amended Jun 12 – RF)