Changing Places toilet

Changing Places Awareness Day 2024

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Today is Changing Places Awareness day. Another opportunity to speak about the Changing Places toilets that make our life with Quinns easier. They allow us to get out and about with him and make his life as exciting as possible.

This week I’ve been sharing posts from Changing Places UK about the numbers of Changing Place toilets across the UK. The numbers are shockingly low. There are only 17 in airports, 199 in parks and open spaces and museums, galleries and art centres have 99. Only 123 hospital and medical centres have one out of a total of 1148 and out of the thousands of pubs and restaurants there are 16!

We started raising awareness for these facilities in 2018. For the last 6 years I’ve taken a photo of Quinns and his Big Sister in every one of the facilities we’ve visited. They know the drill!

Quinns (3) and his big sister (7) posing in a Changing Places toilet in 2018. You can see the adjustable height bench, hoist and screen in the background.
2018
Quinns (8) and his Big Sister (13) posing in a Changing Places toilet in 2024. Quinns is in his sling on the hoist with the adjustable height changing bench behind him.
2024

It is usually with great excitement we try out a new one because each time we know that the world has opened another little bit for Quinns. Our recent visits have included Waverly Station in Edinburgh, Silverburn Shopping Centre in Glasgow and Tebay Services Northbound.

Quinns posing in the Edinburgh Waverley Train Station Changing Place toilet.
Waverley Station
Quinns and his Big Sister posing in front of a mirror in the Changing Place toilet in Glasgow's Silverburn Shopping Centre.
Silverburn Shopping Centre
Quinns and his Big Sister posing in the Changing Places toilet in Tebay Services Northbound.
Tebay Services Northbound

Only four out of the five hospitals across the UK where Quinns has appointments have one. Luckily, it’s one closer to home that doesn’t but luck shouldn’t really come into it when it comes to toilet facilities.

The journey to and from London for hospital appointments is now easier due to the recent investment in Changing Places in service stations. We have a choice of where to stop along the route.

When we’re not travelling, we have our favourite places to go simply because of the toilet. Quinns loves the cinema and swimming so Macrobert Arts Centre and The Peak are our go to local days out. Quinns was delighted to have his drama group’s short film premiere hosted at the Macrobert Arts Centre where his friends were able to be happy and comfortable.

Someone asked me recently whether there were any new Changing Places facilities in our local area. I was sad to say there have been no new ones since our campaigning began. In our entire local authority area, there are only 3 registered and open to the public (Macrobert Arts Centre, The Peak and Blair Drummond Safari Park). There are also ones in the Community hospital, local College and a resource centre bringing the total to 6.

This Changing Places Awareness Day my Wishlist for potential Changing Places facilities includes the Thistles Centre in Stirling, Stirling Castle, Stirling Train Station, the Wallace Monument and Bridge of Allan (which I’m hopeful is happening albeit very slowly). 

What’s on your Changing Places wishlist? If you want to find out more about the campaign or find out what you can do to help you’ll find lots more information on the Changing Places UK website

North to South

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I can’t let World Toilet Day pass without talking about Changing Places toilets. It has been great to hear that the 2000th Changing Place was registered in the past week. It’s a huge achievement but there’s still a long way to go to get Changing Places in all public spaces.

Quinns smiles while being lifted in his hoist sling supported by his smiling Big Sister by his side.

In recent months we’ve travelled to the north of Scotland and to the south of England from our base in Central Scotland. Our WAV (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) has given us freedom to roam. Quinns is happy and comfortable remaining in his wheelchair as we drive.

Our routes are always rigorously timed and planned according to stops with a Changing Places toilet available to give him a break. On our first journey north of around 150 miles we planned for one stop to break up our three hour journey. There is a choice of only two Changing Places toilets along the entire route!

Quinns smiles sitting at a table with his Big Sister behind him. The front of the Tiso store in Aviemore. A lit up Changing Places sign above the door to the Changing Places toilet in the Tiso store.

We chose the Tiso store in Aviemore, which was slightly over the halfway point. As well as the newly installed Changing Place we were pleasantly surprised to find a cafe in the outdoor/camping shop. The food was so good it tempted us back on our journey south again.

We would have liked to try out the Changing Place in Pitlochry but with limited opening hours it didn’t work with our plans. So for journeys north we will be back to Tiso until there are others for us to try.

Our second journey was the long road back to Quinns’ London hospital. At more than double the distance of our journey north, about 340 miles, we expected it to take us around six hours and need two stops. Thankfully, recently, there has been a large investment of funding for Changing Places toilets in services across England so we had our choice of service station stops with suitable facilities along the route. 

Instructions on how to use a Wall Mounted Changing Bench 3000. Quinns and his Big Sister smiling in the middle of a Changing Places toilet with adjustable height bench, sink, hoist and screen all visible. Sign that reads 'Changing Places toilet installed thanks to funding provided by the Department for Transport with Muscular Dystrophy UK.

In order to meet the standard required most Changing Places look the same, with similar equipment and fittings. On our way south we noted in one of the new service station toilets there were instruction panels for each bit of equipment. This is a really helpful addition as although the equipment is similar it’s not necessarily always the same and we need to work out how to use it.

On the way back we decided not to travel straight home, instead stopping in Leeds to meet friends. We were impressed by the additional details in the Changing Places in the Royal Armouries Museum there. Quinns especially enjoyed seeing the elephant statue on the screen. These small details make a big difference to our experience.

Green elephant fittings on an adjustable height bench which is closed against a wall. Quinns with his back to the camera looks at a screen with an elephant statue on it.

Using Changing Places in service stations meant we didn’t need to track too far off route and add extra time to our journey unless we had a reason to do so. Sadly they are not quite in all service stations yet. On the final leg of our journey we stopped at Tebay North having used Tebay South on the way only to discover there’s no Changing Place in the north one and no access to the south. 

We learned important lessons from our journeys north and south including how little choice we have and why route planning is so essential for us. There may be 2000 registered Changing Places across the country now but the campaigning for more must go on.

National Cinema Day

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We’ve not managed to get away this summer. Our long awaited WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle) arrived the day before the schools went back. It has been a real struggle fitting Quinns and his Bug wheelchair in our car and has made days out very difficult if not impossible. The cinema has been our go to as are lucky to live within walking distance of the Macrobert Arts Centre, a creative hub which includes a cinema and a Changing Places toilet.

Quinns has always loved watching tv. It’s the one thing in life he doesn’t need help with. His interest in film began when he was really small. It started with films like Toy Story, Cars and then Planes: Fire and rescue, the film where his favourite song, Thunderstruck by AC/DC comes from. Last year he graduated to watching all the Star Wars films and quizzed everyone on his eye gaze with questions about which lightsaber they would rather own.

This year Marvel has taken over. He’s watched so many I’ve totally lost track. His knowledge on the subject is incredible. He loves to guess which Marvel character from clue cards. It’s a great way for him to show us and anyone who visits what he knows. 

Quinns has a serious face looking at his eye gaze computer which can be seen from the back. A mini screen shows pictures of Marvel characters and a card shows the character Hela.

We know he gets a lot out of watching tv programmes and films. Not only is it brilliant research for his budding film making career but we know he’s safe and happy watching at home. However unless he has persuaded one of us to join him it can be a fairly solitary activity. That is not ideal for our social butterfly so cinema is an obvious activity to get him out and about.

You would think it would be an easy and accessible activity. However a few years ago when I looked to take Quinns and Big Sister to our local major cinema I discovered it was not. The accessible seat was situated (caged in) right at the front of the cinema with only one carer seat next to it. 

My dilemma, do I sit next to Quinns and send Big Sister, then aged 9, off to sit on her own in the body of the cinema or leave the two of them together and find myself far from them both? Even if we go as a family or I take someone with us to sit with Big Sister, we’re split up. Quinns couldn’t go with a group of friends without being separated from them.

Cinema screen layout diagram showing 2 blue wheelchair spaces with one carer seat each right at the front of the cinema separate from all the other seats.

Having designated wheelchair spaces with a carer seat may comply with the regulations but I’m not sure how much input there has been from anyone with lived experience.

The Macrobert Arts Centre is different. In one screen the wheelchair space is on the back row with ample space beside for us all to sit together. In the other screen the entire front row has drop down seats allowing wheelchair users and their families to sit anywhere along the row. 

The downside is we have limited choice of what to watch and we have to wait patiently for films we want to see as there are only two screens compared to the eight of the major cinema. However this is far outweighed by the fact we have access to a Changing Places toilet. 

This is now a necessity for any trip out with Quinns. I was surprised to discover on Changing Places awareness day that only a small fraction of cinemas have one which seems like a missed opportunity.

Cinema really could be a truly accessible activity if only more of them had access to a Changing Places toilet and there was just a little more thought as to the placement of wheelchair spaces. It’s not too much to ask for our budding film star, is it?

Quinns and his Big Sister smile from the dimly lit back row of a cinema.

Quinns, trains and…Changing Places

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Now that Quinns’ diagnosis has changed it’s a bit awkward writing a blog with cerebral palsy in the name. I don’t really want to change it and risk losing the readers and followers who support me but I’ve finally decided to rename it ‘Quinns, trains & changing places’ which allows me to keep the qtandcp. I’ve learned through this journey that it is places that need to change for inclusion to succeed so the purpose of the blog will remain the same. I’m sure there will still be plenty of cute photographs of Quinns and his Big Sister.

3 year old Quinns sits in his working chair smiling with a handwritten sign in front of him which reads 'Nobody should have to lie on a toilet floor! #ChangingPlaces
7 year old Quinns sits in his car seat cuddling his toy giraffe. He is smiling up at the camera.

As well as the change of diagnosis over the last 5 years of writing we’ve seen some massive changes in our lives. We’ve stayed at home a lot and we’ve travelled a little. We’ve enjoyed simple pleasures and taken on big adventures. 

We had to move house and then make adaptations to the new house. In between we raised awareness of the need to change play parks and raised the money to make our local play park more inclusive with paths and accessible play equipment.

Quinns finished nursery and started school. He has been teaching the teachers for three years now about everything from eye gaze technology to nasogastric feeding and we’ve experienced various versions of schooling; home, online and hospital.

Throughout it all and a big incentive for the change of blog name has been Changing Places toilets. These facilities have become even more essential to us over the last few years. We struggle to go anywhere that doesn’t have access to one these days. We have visited many that have been newly installed but there still aren’t nearly enough to make it easy for us to get Quinns out and about.

This Changing Places awareness day we support the campaign for all healthcare settings, cinemas and theatres to have Changing Places. I also want to raise awareness of the #RiseForSport petition aiming for Changing Places in all sports venues. I hope throughout the next five years I will be able to share photos of Quinns and his Big Sister outside many, many more.

So the name change not only covers Quinns’ change of diagnosis and everything we’ve been through in the last five years but also one of my favourite topics, Changing Place toilets! 

A boring trip to the zoo

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Quinns asked to go to the zoo to see the giraffes. Not a big ask for his seventh birthday but there were two big problems. As far as I was aware there is no Changing Places toilet at the zoo. Generally we like to go places where we are certain they have the facilities we need which is absolutely fine as a strategy. But if we don’t ever go to places that don’t have them there’s never any pressure to install them. So we decided to take the risk and make sure to ask about the facilities raising a little awareness while we were at it.

The second issue is our car is no longer good for travelling any distance. We’re currently awaiting delivery of our WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle). Although we ordered it a couple of months ago we will be lucky if it arrives before the end of the year.

After researching public transport we planned our day to take the Citylink bus. Before paying for our four seats I was asked if we needed a wheelchair space. We did and I booked it for both directions at no extra cost. Simple.

So far so good but I will admit I was intrigued about how they would get Quinns’ wheelchair on a coach! I was also extremely nervous about whether the day would run smoothly or not because there were so many variables and given our past experiences it seemed like a fairly ambitious plan.

When the big day arrived, I told the bus driver I had booked the wheelchair space. We had to wait till everyone else boarded because she ‘would need to do all the shenanigans with the steps’. The shenanigans turned out to be a quick button press which turned the steps into a lift to take Quinns and his wheelchair into the coach where they were secured in the front seat.

Quinns being lowered to the ground in his wheelchair on a lift attached to a coach.

He had the best view out of the front of the bus the whole way to the zoo where we repeated the process of getting him off to an amazed group of onlookers.

Quinns smiling as he sits in his wheelchair at the front of the coach

On arrival at the zoo the first thing to do was find out about the facilities. After my usual conversation about how accessible toilets are not sufficient for our needs I found out there is a Changing Place toilet in the planning just not opened yet. We were offered the use of the medical room and given the number to call for access.

We had been before so were well aware of the giant hill the zoo is built on. I was impressed with the accessibility map we were given which pointed out the steps and showed us where the steepest slopes were allowing us to plan our route. We had the option to use the accessibility vehicle to get to the top of the hill but in our wisdom we chose to make our own way there. Something I think we regretted a little when it drove past us as we struggled up a steep incline.

However between the three of us we made it. We even managed to time our visit to the giraffes when they had been brought inside to eat so we had a perfect view. Some of the enclosures on the way up made it really difficult for Quinns to see but there were also plenty of lower or glass viewing points for him so he didn’t miss out on too much.

Quinns & Big Sister have a chat while looking through glass screens at the penguins in their enclosure

Once we had seen all the animals we had a quick lunch. Then all too soon, and without having a chance to try out the accessible roundabout in one of the play parks, it was time to head out to catch the coach home. Which was as uneventful as the first time.

Despite my concerns and readiness for some sort of fight or difficulty the day was pretty peaceful. Thankfully our risk with going somewhere without a Changing Place Toilet paid off on this occasion but it would have been so much easier to know it was available for us. Hopefully the plan for one will soon be a reality.

All in all the day was a success and Quinns went to bed that night a very tired but also very happy little boy.

Quinns and Big Sister pose smiling beside a #GiraffeAboutTown at the entrance to Edinburgh zoo