Not long after I'd had my hip replaced, the John Lewis department store at the huge Bluewater shopping centre installed grab rails in their public toilets. The cubicles are not very wide, and the further restriction of rails on BOTH SIDES made it very difficult for someone on the large side, with limited flexibility (like me on both counts) to get inside and close the door.
At the second attempt, I managed to get someone to look into the reasons for this ridiculous attempt to make the toilets more "accessible" to disabled people.
Guess who they are doing it for? People with one arm - they could be missing either arm, after all. Why does the loss of an arm mean someone needs a grab rail in a toilet? Surely that's not who grab rails are designed to help? Aren't they for people like me, who are stiff and doddery from things like arthritis?
But I ask you - how common is it to have only one arm, compared to a hip replacement or arthritis? No other store in the shopping centre has such a ludicrous set-up, nor do the shopping centre toilets themselves, which are much wider anyway.
There is actually a disabled toilet next door to the main toilets. The fact that the flashy electronic lock rarely works should be more of a concern to the store's management, rather than misinterpreting the accessibility requirements.
I just emailed Head Office. I will keep you posted on any further nonsense I hear from the Jobsworths.
What annoys me is when perfectly healthy people use the disabled toilet when there are regular toilets open. They use it, I guess, because it's bigger.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhhh ... toilet troubles. My biggest complaint is those folk who don't believe in the "courtesy flush." LOL. Val, keep us posted on your progress with the politically correct toilet trust.
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Sorry, but I'm one of the people that will use the large stall if it's available and no one who truly needs it is waiting. They make the stalls so damn tiny and the doors all open inward.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand the need to accomodate disabled people, but I find the amount of disabled parking spots that sit empty day after day very excessive. You should see how many disabled parking spots there are, all over, in WA. Very rarely do I encounter someone who is truly disabled. I see the placards in the windows, but the people getting out of the cars look damn healthy to me.
I would suggest you find alternative toilets rather than moan at a companies attempt to cater for everyones needs. At least they are making an effort and you are not the only one with a disability.
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