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Building Regulations Approved Document ‘M’ and BS8300-2009
Accessible Toilets
Why is it so important?
Why is it so important to precisely meet the requirements?
What may appear to be a small insignificant detail to you, may pose a real element of danger to someone with a disability.You will have to use your imagination from now on, unless of course you have a disability.
Q. Why can’t i use a standard height toilet pan?A. Standard wheelchair heights are 480mm to the top of the seat. Standard toilet pans are around 430mm to the top of the seat. Using your imagination you can guess that it may not be too difficult to slide off of your wheelchair and drop onto the toilet seat. But, how about getting back onto your chair? Without the use of your legs even with good upper body strength, it is practically impossible for most people to launch themselves up by over 50mm and across by 600mm with arm strength alone.What would really happen is this:
· you know that you can’t make the transfer so you pull the alarm cord for assistance if one exists and hope that there is someone monitoring the alarm
or
· you don’t want to cause a fuss so you give it a go anyway. What’s the worse that can happen?
So, you pluck up the courage, use your imagination here and try to launch yourself from the toilet seat across onto your wheelchair.
You only make it half way. You and your wheelchair topple over near the far wall (where there is no alarm). I will leave what happens next to your imagination.There are some disabilities where you get in a mess using the toilet and you need to wash your hands before rearranging your clothing.Now imagine this: You have no feeling from the waste down. Your hands are dirty and you need to clean them before rearranging your clothing and transferring to your wheelchair.
Try this...... Whilst sitting on a chair, lift your legs off the ground, stretch your arms out in front of you and see how far you can reach forward without loosing your balance.The answer is approximately 150mm or 6 inches.If the tap is on the corner of the washbasin nearest to you; you have a chance of washing your hands. If it in the centre or on the opposite corner, you have to stretch at least another 150mm or 6 inches which almost certainly means;
· You can’t wash your hands
or
· You try; you fall over forwards possibly hitting your head on the washbasin and land up on the floor away from an alarm pull cord.
· How do you flush the toilet?
The flush lever should be on the open side of the cistern (not on the wall side).You should be able to flush it using a hand, an elbow or i have even known it to be done with a chin.If it is not on the open side, how do you flush the Loo after transferring onto your wheelchair? Do you flush it whilst sitting on the toilet or perhaps leave it for the next person?
· Toilet tissues or toilet paper?
Many people only have the use of one hand, which can make the job of tearing sheets of paper off of a traditional toilet roll quite difficult. You try it.
A toilet tissue dispenser, fitted in the correct position can make life so much easier for anyone to use.
Just one other thing for now. The fold down rail should be easy to pull down and push up from a seated position but some of these, lock into the upright position and have to be physically lifted before they can be lowered. Not an easy job for even the most muscular and agile of us, especially whilst sitting on the toilet with our back to it. The best ones have a friction hinge, so that they can be adjusted to fold down effortlessly, without them falling down uncontrollably and frightening you or even worse, injuring you.
These are just some of the reasons why it is so important to comply with the current regulations and best practice.
Get it wrong and you could be creating discomfort, distress, embarrassment or even injury.
©David Spooner
Accessible Toilets
Why is it so important?
Why is it so important to precisely meet the requirements?
What may appear to be a small insignificant detail to you, may pose a real element of danger to someone with a disability.You will have to use your imagination from now on, unless of course you have a disability.
Q. Why can’t i use a standard height toilet pan?A. Standard wheelchair heights are 480mm to the top of the seat. Standard toilet pans are around 430mm to the top of the seat. Using your imagination you can guess that it may not be too difficult to slide off of your wheelchair and drop onto the toilet seat. But, how about getting back onto your chair? Without the use of your legs even with good upper body strength, it is practically impossible for most people to launch themselves up by over 50mm and across by 600mm with arm strength alone.What would really happen is this:
· you know that you can’t make the transfer so you pull the alarm cord for assistance if one exists and hope that there is someone monitoring the alarm
or
· you don’t want to cause a fuss so you give it a go anyway. What’s the worse that can happen?
So, you pluck up the courage, use your imagination here and try to launch yourself from the toilet seat across onto your wheelchair.
You only make it half way. You and your wheelchair topple over near the far wall (where there is no alarm). I will leave what happens next to your imagination.There are some disabilities where you get in a mess using the toilet and you need to wash your hands before rearranging your clothing.Now imagine this: You have no feeling from the waste down. Your hands are dirty and you need to clean them before rearranging your clothing and transferring to your wheelchair.
Try this...... Whilst sitting on a chair, lift your legs off the ground, stretch your arms out in front of you and see how far you can reach forward without loosing your balance.The answer is approximately 150mm or 6 inches.If the tap is on the corner of the washbasin nearest to you; you have a chance of washing your hands. If it in the centre or on the opposite corner, you have to stretch at least another 150mm or 6 inches which almost certainly means;
· You can’t wash your hands
or
· You try; you fall over forwards possibly hitting your head on the washbasin and land up on the floor away from an alarm pull cord.
· How do you flush the toilet?
The flush lever should be on the open side of the cistern (not on the wall side).You should be able to flush it using a hand, an elbow or i have even known it to be done with a chin.If it is not on the open side, how do you flush the Loo after transferring onto your wheelchair? Do you flush it whilst sitting on the toilet or perhaps leave it for the next person?
· Toilet tissues or toilet paper?
Many people only have the use of one hand, which can make the job of tearing sheets of paper off of a traditional toilet roll quite difficult. You try it.
A toilet tissue dispenser, fitted in the correct position can make life so much easier for anyone to use.
Just one other thing for now. The fold down rail should be easy to pull down and push up from a seated position but some of these, lock into the upright position and have to be physically lifted before they can be lowered. Not an easy job for even the most muscular and agile of us, especially whilst sitting on the toilet with our back to it. The best ones have a friction hinge, so that they can be adjusted to fold down effortlessly, without them falling down uncontrollably and frightening you or even worse, injuring you.
These are just some of the reasons why it is so important to comply with the current regulations and best practice.
Get it wrong and you could be creating discomfort, distress, embarrassment or even injury.
©David Spooner