Delivery of ‘best value’ is being given a new approach- at least as far as sanitary requirements are concerned.
Under current Building Regulations, and best practice guidance (British Standards), if space is a limiting factor in toilet provision, the acceptable ‘catch-all’ is to install a unisex, wheelchair-accessible toilet, to be available for use by anyone visiting the premises.
Closomat, Britain’s #1 provider of helpful toilet solutions for anyone with a limitation, is urging providers to go a stage further, and include therein a little more space, a hoist and adult-sized changing bench. It delivers, the company maintains, best value in terms of space management, cost, and customer service.
“Even a unisex wheelchair-accessible toilet is a compromise,” explains Closomat away from home project manager Kelvin Grimes. “Many wheelchair users have, and need a carer to help them. Many need lifting, and are too big for their carer to lift unaided. Figures suggest at least 0.5million adults have faecal incontinence, a proportion of which will require pads, nappies, changing.
“Adding a hoist to a unisex wheelchair accessible toilet takes no extra space, but opens the doors to large numbers of people who would otherwise stay away- or at home- in case they needed the toilet. The changing bench does need more space, but its requirement is still significantly less than providing all the individual toilet permutations.
“Combined, you provide a WC facility that needs the needs of most- certainly more than the Regulatory, supposedly universal solution. And from experience, many unisex wheelchair-accessible toilets, that are provided as the only ‘public’ WC, often have the additional space inside anyway, so for those, it is just a case of a little more kit, that makes the facility useable by many more people, who will potentially visit with their carers, families.”
Closomat is unique in its ability to deliver compliant, accessible toileting in domestic, commercial and public environments. In ‘away from home’ toilets, it was the original sponsor of the Changing Places Toilet campaign, and has helped campaigners develop the complimentary Space to Change concept. In domestic situations, its Palma Vita wash & dry WC is the brand leader.
Closomat is also unique in its ability to, in-house, provide design advice, supply, installation, commissioning, project management and subsequent service & maintenance. To help all involved in the process, the company has a raft of downloadable information on its website, www.clos-o-mat.com, including white papers, CAD blocks, room renders, guidance notes, specification clauses and videos.
