WHY DOES THE ATHOLL CENTRE HAVE A CHANGING PLACES
TOILET?
2019 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Atholl Centre and to commemorate
this it was decided to build a Changing Places Toilet to improve the facilities of the Centre. (The
project for the 40th Anniversary was to completely refurbish and upgrade the Centre and this is
now completed.)
Why build a toilet?… because a quarter of a million disabled people in the UK have a limited distance they can travel from their home due to the restricting availability of an appropriate toilet facility, and what better a way to demonstrate how the Centre seeks to show respect, consideration and hospitality to all.
WHAT IS A CHANGING PLACES TOILET?
A CPT toilet will provide
enough room to accommodate a wheelchair and two carers or a centrally placed toilet with room either side.
Standard accessible toilets, or "disabled toilets", do not provide enough room. It is fitted
with these facilities: an adult sized, height adjustable free standing changing bench; a ceiling tracking
hoist; a peninsular (centrally placed) toilet; a privacy screen or curtain; a large bin for pads; an
emergency alarm; a paper roll; a non-slip floor.
WHERE WILL YOU FIND A CHANGING PLACES TOILET (CPT)?
. . .
on the ground floor of the Atholl Centre, Atholl Road, Pitlochry, Perthshire, PH16 5BX!
When the Centre upgraded all ground floor bedrooms with spacious ensuite facilities including showers with
wet floor provision, this made the two communal toilets and two shower cubicles redundant. The space they
had occupied was a suitable size and location for a CPT.
There is a network of 250 Changing Places Toilets across Scotland. Promoting A More Inclusive Society – PAMIS – work solely with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, and their families, for a better life. www.pamis.org.uk PAMIS provides a map of all the CPTs in Scotland. Their App on a mobile phone will enable a person to locate the Atholl Centre CPT.
WHO WILL USE THIS CHANGING PLACES TOILET?
Anyone who is
staying in Pitlochry or travelling through will be welcome to use the facilities but especially those with
profound or multiple learning disabilities, as well as people with other physical disabilities such as
spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
The possibility of getting out and about for day trips and holidays can now be a reality, which many of us take for granted. The absence of suitable toilets meant that people with complex disabilities, who need assistance, could not take part in activities such as shopping, going out for a meal or attending a sporting event. Without a suitable changing bench and hoist, many people with complex needs had to be laid on unhygienic toilet floors. Knowing there is a CPT in Pitlochry means another journey can be planned instead of being trapped in their own homes.
Creating and equipping a Changing Places Toilet completes the refurbishment of the Centre and expresses our vision that anyone accessing this facility can have their needs met with sensitivity and dignity and be able to enjoy activities away from home.
