Moving Changing Places Into The Future with Modular Build
The Changing Places campaign began in 2006, set up by a consortium of experts to support around 230,000 severely disabled people in the UK, including those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, who do not have access to public toilet facilities that meet their needs. These people both young and old are in need support from one or two carers to either get on the toilet or to have their continence pad changed.
Standard accessible toilets or “disabled toilets” do not provide changing benches or hoists and most are too small to accommodate more than one person.
Without Changing Places toilets, people with disabilities are put into undignified, unclean environments and families are forced to risk their own health and safety by changing their loved one on a toilet floor as illustrated in the video below.
Working hard to support the campaign, at OpeMed we look to help to provide vital Changing Places toilets that can allow the disabled community to travel with confidence.
Our most recent endeavor has been the construction of a Changing Places in Bristol at their Family Cycling Centre.
The Family Cycle Centre is a purpose built facility with a large athletics track and other traffic free paths and training areas for a wide range of cycling activities.
This project has been a fantastic demonstration of how a business can ensure they always have the capabilities to support their customers. This brand new Changing Places toilet has been pre-fabricated and carefully designed to be a mobile, stand-alone, permanent solution therefore creating flexibility for the business. When the company needs to re-locate, they can insure their investment travels with them, thus future proofing their business and ensuring they can always cater for the needs of the disabled community.
This project has This mobile Changing Places toilet is fully compliant to the BS 8300 requirements. Offering our OT200 full room covering Ceiling Hoist, a height adjustable changing table, an ideal size of 12m2 of space (designed to allow both users and their carers to safely and easily use the facility) and a range of other vital equipment.
The Grand Opening was held on Saturday the 14th at Bristol Cycling Centre. It was well attended by local residents, councillors and we even had the pleasure of meeting Marvin Rees, Bristol Council’s newly elected Mayor.
The facility offers:
- Two wheelers – traditional bikes
- A Platform bike – for wheelchair users
- A Wheelchair bike – a regular bike with a wheelchair attached
- Side-by-side tandem bikes for two – for those with visual impairment or not confident with steering and braking
- A double-hand cycle for two and single-hand cycles – for those who have difficulty using pedals
- A Quad cycle – a fixed pedal, low speed very stable bike
- Recumbent tricycles – more stable than regular trikes, with added back support
- Tricycles – large, medium and small 3-wheelers
- Tiny trikes – suitable for younger children, one with back support
- Tagalong trikes – for children to be attached to an adult bike in front and more.
If you would like to find out more information about Changing Places, please click here.
If you would like to request a consultation and discuss your own Changing Places facility, please click here.
If you would like to find out more about Bristol Cycling Centre, please click here.
