Learning Disability Nurses flushed with success | News

This week Royal Surrey staff, patients and carers welcomed the opening of a new ‘Changing Places’ toilet designed for young people and adults with severe and multiple Learning Disabilities and people with a range of  physical disabilities or mobility issues.

The high-tech loo has an adult-sized changing bench with privacy screen, a hoist, and a toilet with a self-cleaning function.

A project group led by the Learning Disabilities and Autism Nursing team identified a need for a Changing Places toilet on the hospital’s main site. The Royal Surrey site has accessible toilets but none with the space and specialist facilities to help patients requiring an adult sized changing bench and hoist equipment.

Vicki Ward, one of the Learning Disability Nurses, said: “Our patients often come in for multiple outpatient appointments. They can be on site for quite a long time and without this facility they would either not be able to use a toilet, or they would have to sit in soiled continence products for the duration of their visit. Alternatively, their carers would have to change them on a floor or in the back of a car. This obviously doesn’t give a good patient experience for anyone and affects people’s ability to access healthcare.

“As a team, we’re very aware of advocating for a unique group of patients. People with Learning Disabilities have significantly greater health inequalities than the general population and they are more likely than their peers to die early from treatable disease so equal access to healthcare is vital.

“We feel really passionate about this project as we’ve seen the difficulties faced by our patients and their families and carers who need this facility when they’re attending hospital. It’s great to be able to say we listened to what you told us, we’ve improved our facilities and we’ve helped make your patient experience better.”

Laura Meader, who attends frequent appointments at Royal Surrey with her son Liam, aged 11, said: ‘’We’re delighted that there is now a Changing Places at our local hospital for families like ours. When we’re out and about, we often struggle to find a toilet that is both safe and dignified for Liam to use. That can be a real barrier to us even leaving the house sometimes.

“Just knowing that there are suitable facilities at the hospital is a real game-changer, and will take a lot of the stress out of our visits. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it happen.’’

The changing places toilet is located on Level B, close to the Outpatients department. The toilet’s location will be added to a national map highlighting each changing places site. Visit the webpage for more information for patients.