Loo of the year award winner

Southampton is celebrating after winning a prestigious award for having the best disabled toilet facility in England.

The Changing Places toilet at WestQuay Shopping Centre in Southampton was awarded the Changing Places Loo of the Year Award 2011 for achieving the highest possible standard for a Changing Places toilet.

Changing Places toilets cater for people who have profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and other people with severe disabilities who need the support of at least one carer. Standard accessible toilets do not meet the needs of these people, Changing Places toilets however, are different to standard disabled toilets and have extra features including space for at least one carer, a height adjustable changing bench and a hoist. Without these facilities, families and carers of people with PMLD have to change their loved one on a cramped and dirty toilet floor. The Changing Places campaign is run by the Changing Places Consortium, and sponsored by Total Hygiene, the UK’s leading disabled toileting solutions provider.

The Changing places toilet at WestQuay was installed in October 2010. As a popular shopping area there was a real demand for a fully accessible toilet to cater for people with PMLD and other people severe disabilities, so they were not limited to spending only a couple of hours at this great shopping centre.

Beverley Dawkins, Co-Chair of the Changing Places Consortium, comments: “The impact of a Changing Places toilet on the quality of life for people with PMLD and other people with severe disabilities is significant. WestQuay’s Changing Places toilet really stood out to us because it was incredibly user friendly, with ample space and a great design. It’s very positive for Southampton that it can shout about having the best disabled toilet facility in the country.”

Representatives from WestQuay Shopping Centre Changing Places toilet attended the impressive awards ceremony in Warwickshire to collect their trophy and will now hold the title for best Changing Places Loo of the Year for the next year.

Sue Duddington, Marketing Controller from the WestQuay Shopping Centre comments: “We’re delighted to have won the Changing Places Loo of the Year Award. We’re very committed to making WestQuay as accessible as possible for everyone in the community and it’s great that this has been recognised with our efforts on the Changing Places toilet.”