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Notes to Editors

About Changing Places Toilets

1. A Changing Places toilet is a fully accessible toilet with the following additional equipment: a height-adjustable changing bench, an overhead track or mobile hoist; a peninsular toilet, privacy screen and enough space for up to two carers as detailed in British Standard BS8300: 2009. These toilets should be provided in addition to standard accessible toilets.

2. Research highlights that 230,000 people in the UK need assistance to toilet and/or change continence pads.  Users include people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and people with a range of other disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Motor Neurone disease, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, some older people and other specific disabilities.  Our estimation of up to a quarter of a million users will increase in the future. For some groups the prevalence of individuals will increase, e.g. people with intellectual disabilities and people of advanced age, increasing the need for and relevance of Changing Places toilets.

3. The Changing Places consortium comprises Muscular Dystrophy UK, PAMIS, Centre for Accessible Environments, the Scottish Government and founding member and advisor/campaigner Martin Jackaman. The Changing Places campaign supports the rights of people with profound and multiple learning, and/or other physical disabilities, to access their community. Without Changing Places toilets, carers are forced to change their loved ones on toilet floors or have to stay at home. For information and advice on changing places facilities in Scotland email, changing.places@pamis.org.uk

for England, Wales and Northern Ireland email, changingplaces@musculardystrophyuk.org

About PAMIS

1. PAMIS (Promoting A More Inclusive Society) is the only charity that solely supports children, young people (CYP) and adults with profound learning and multiple disabilities (PMLD) and their families to lead healthy, valued and included lives. PAMIS offers a range of projects and programmes including: Family support services; education and development; research and practice development; inclusive culture and leisure; campaigns; information sharing and an extensive library including the PAMIS multisensory stories; and resources to support technology enabled care. 

People with PMLD and their families face many barriers to accessing and participating in the community, and PAMIS works on a number of fronts to enable inclusion and improve their quality of life.  

PAMIS works closely with the Scottish Government on the development of policy and practice. This work includes representation on government committees, responding to consultation exercises, and campaigning on key issues.  

The organisation are the co-chairs to the UK Changing Places Toilet Consortium who advocate that there is at least one public toilet built to the Changing Places standard in every town centre with a population greater than 15,000 and within each new public building such as shopping centres, concert halls, railway stations etc. 

PAMIS were 2016 winners of the prestigious GSK and Kings fund IMPACT award recognised for excellence in Innovation, Management, Partnership working, Achievement, Community Focus, and Targeting Need 

More information is available at www.pamis.org.uk or contact Jenny Miller CEO on 0771 498 1356 – jenny.miller@pamis.org.uk PAMIS Business and Finance Director Fiona Harper on 07507 844097 or Fiona.harper@pamis.org.uk