Estimated number of potential users of Changing Places Toilets in Ireland
Following a review of Part M of the building regulations with regard to the provision of Changing Places Toilets, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) requested the National Disability Authority (NDA) to advise on the estimated number of potential users of Changing Places Toilets here in Ireland.
A wide range of people are unable to effectively use the standard wheelchair accessible WC’s available in buildings throughout Ireland and Changing Places Facilities addresses this need. These facilities provide the additional space required for assistance to be provided, including equipment, a hoist and a changing bench.
The NDA have applied four different ways to estimate the number of potential users of Changing Places Toilets here in Ireland. These approaches are listed as follows:
Calculation based on UK estimate
Users include people with serious intellectual disabilities and people with disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Motor Neurone disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, and others with specific disabilities. It is estimated that the number of potential users in the UK amounts to 250,000.
The NDA estimate that around 19,400 persons might use a Changing Place in Ireland. This assumes that the proportion of potential users of changing places in Ireland mirrors that in the UK.
Numbers of wheelchair users and users of hoists
The NDA have identified that the number of people who use hoists is likely to be a better indicator of the potential number of users of Changing Places than the number of wheelchair users. The estimated number of users of hoists is 19,700.
Persons unable to toilet independently
An estimate of persons unable to undertake toileting in both communal establishments and private households is set out in Table 2 of the NDA ‘Estimated number of potential users of Changing Places Toilets in Ireland’ report.
It is assumed that all persons that are completely unable to undertake their toileting are potential users of Changing Places.
Estimate of potential users based on condition/status specific Irish data
Table 3 of the NDA report sets out the conditions that may indicate a need for a Changing Place and Table 4 provides estimates of potential users of Changing Places from specific cohorts of persons with disabilities.
Table 5 of the NDA report indicates estimates ranging from 17,100 to 37,700 or 1 in 291 to 1 in 132 people.
The report advises that the estimates shown should be taken as reasonable rather than accurate figures of the number of potential users of Changing Places and the report advises planning for the upper end of the range of the estimated number of potential users of Changing Places Toilets.
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