Save £ on 'Spending a Penny'

Published by Angela May for Total Hygiene in Communities and also in Environment, Health, Local Government

Local authorities can make available funds go further by adopting recommendations in the new British Standard on public toilet provision.

BS6465-4 Code of Practice for Provision of Public Toilets has just come into force, and states “when considering innovative approaches to toilet provision, issues of…equality, accessibility, social inclusion and sustainability should be taken into account.” It also says existing toilets should not be closed just because they do not include facilities for disabled people, as by law (Equality Act 2010) ‘reasonable adjustments’ must be carried out to make facilities accessible for disabled people, and extends classification of disability to include incontinence.

British company Total Hygiene maintains its Clos-o-Mat ‘wash and dry’ toilet provides an ideal solution, satisfying needs of age, mental or physical handicap, and cultural/ religious considerations. And with its range of supply options, the toilet can be small-scale tested for as little as three months, cost-effectively, or easily relocated to an alternative site.

The Clos-o-Mat looks like, and can be used as, a conventional WC. However, its integral douche and drier, triggered by pressing the flush pad whilst still sat on the toilet, eliminate the need for manual cleansing. Thus it overcomes issues of mobility, balance, manual dexterity and the Islamic Qadaahul Haajah whilst ensuring the user is effectively and hygienically clean.

As a result, one toilet could replace separate male, female and accessible facilities- a concept recommended under the new Standard- and further encompass the cultural considerations widely missed under traditional public toilet provision. Total Hygiene offers a range of supply options, be it purchase or rental, backed up with cost-effective in-house service and maintenance, additionally helping optimization of available budget.

Robin Tuffley, Total Hygiene marketing manager, observes, “It is increasingly being acknowledged that public toilets are a missing link in creating sustainable cities, and rather than being a burden on resources can encourage people to visit a location, stay longer and spend more money in the area. The statistics in justifying appropriate provision which complies with the new Standard speak for themselves: 1 in 6 of the UK population are registered disabled, 20million are affected by bladder and bowel continence, and 2m are Muslim.”

Total Hygiene (www.clos-o-mat.com) is the UK’s leading supplier of disabled toilet solutions, celebrating 50 years in the sector. Its Clos-o-Mat Palma is the only toilet of its kind developed specifically for disabled people, and the only one to be WRAS approved, enabling legal connection to the mains water supply. Its Lima Lifter offers all the user benefits of the Palma, but is height adjustable, further optimizing suitability for multi-user environments. The company’s service and maintenance contract equates to less than 50p/day; the product’s reliability is endorsed by the fact more than 40,000 are installed in the UK, some of which have been in daily use for over 30 years. The company is also sponsor of the Changing Places Changing Lives campaign, which has already prompted over 250 specialist accessible ‘Changing Places’ toilets opening across the country.