At last Lowri can enjoy a family day out

9 October 2006

A mother from Loughborough and her two daughters Elin and Lowri were over the moon when they recently spent a girls' day out in Nottingham City Centre. Like many other families they went shopping and had lunch in a café, followed by an afternoon at the theatre. This may not sound like an unusual story, but for mum Bethan and her family it is the first time in years that this has been possible, thanks to Nottingham City Council's decision to install a Changing Places toilet.

Lowri has profound and multiple learning disabilities due to Rett syndrome. She is a wheelchair user with no independent mobility and needs complete 24-hour support with all aspects of her care. Lowri wears continence pads which need to be changed in a Changing Places toilet, like the one in Nottingham. The facility provides a height adjustable changing bench where Lowri can be comfortably laid down, a hoist to allow her to be lifted from her wheelchair on to the bed, and plenty of space.

"We used the Changing places toilet on Saturday and it was brilliant!" Bethan enthuses. "Lowri was very comfortable when we used the changing bench and the whole place was spotless. I was able to take Elin and Lowri shopping for school clothes in the morning, have lunch and then go straight on to the theatre, just like anyone else would have done."

As Bethan explains, this is a far cry from the family's usual experiences:

"Without Changing Places toilets it is a nightmare. We try to plan our days around being home for mealtimes because Lowri needs to go to the toilet, meaning we can only spend a few hours away from home. We have a large mat which we carry around in case we have to change her when we are out. We put this down on the floor of ‘disabled’ loos and just muddle through – we have countless experiences at eye level of disgusting toilet floors."

Bethan's family, like many thousands of other families in the UK, is now desperately hoping that other councils and businesses will begin to provide Changing Places toilets.

"Families with a profoundly disabled member should not be forced to choose between being stuck at home or changing someone on a dirty toilet floor," says Bethan. "Previously we wouldn't have had the confidence to spend a whole day out. Now that we know the Changing Places toilet is in Nottingham and are so confident of what's on offer I know we'll be back regularly…it could get very expensive in terms of lunch out!"

Nottingham 's Changing Places toilet is located on Greyhound Street in Market Square, in the heart of the city centre. For more information please visit our toilet locations page.