'No-one wants to change their child on a toilet floor'

A mum has spoken of her frustration at having to change her seriously ill daughter on a toilet floor because a nearby disabled toilet was closed at weekends.

Kelly, along with her daughter Penny, 11, made a "rare trip" to Stafford town centre after finding there was a Changing Places toilet advertised as being open. The toilet in Staffordshire Place, a county council building, features extra space, hoists and a changing bench.

After finding it shut, Penny - who has Sanfilippo syndrome - had to have her nappy changed on the floor of disabled toilets in a library.

Staffordshire County Council said the toilet had only ever been open during working hours and blamed incorrect information online.

Changing Places toilets are fully accessible bathrooms designed for people with multiple disabilities or complex care needs.

Penny loves to go out, her mum said, but her condition means the family have to carefully plan their trips.

The lack of suitable facilities can make her daughter's world feel "very small" and they tended to visit places with suitable toilets, such as the Trentham Estate.

But they went into town on Saturday, 30 May, after finding details of the toilet on the Changing Places website.

"We just wanted to walk round town and go for a coffee," she said.

However, Kelly and her husband cut short their trip, not taking Penny to Victoria Park, after the nappy change in the town's library.

"Penny can't tell us when she needs the toilet because she is non-verbal," Kelly said.

On the lack of suitable facilities, she said: "It's not dignified and it's not hygienic. No-one wants to put their child on the floor."

Kelly said it was also uncomfortable for her daughter, who takes painkillers for joint stiffness.

"It's really hard, really difficult," she said.

She is approaching 12, is "big for her age" and it is increasingly difficult for her parents to lie her on the ground.

"The most frustrating thing for us is that there was a Changing Place toilet but it wasn't open," she said.

"I mean why spend all the money on one when it isn't open at peak times when families are most likely to be visiting the town centre?"

Kelly, who has a Facebook blog, said a few other families have since contacted her to say they do not take their children into town due to the lack of suitable disabled toilets.

She said there was a Changing Places toilet at County Hospital, but it was a seven minute drive out of town and parking would need to be found.

The family have since found out there is one at the railway station.

The Changing Places website has now been updated to say the toilet inside Staffordshire Place is closed at weekends.

Kelly said her call for better access to Change Places toilets in the town centre had been backed Leigh Ingham, the MP for Stafford.

Councillor Sean Bagguley, from Staffordshire County Council, said he was sorry to hear the difficulties the family experienced in finding a suitable changing area.

He said: "The facility in Staffordshire Place 1 has only ever been open during working hours, but unfortunately it appears the national Changing Places website did not have accurate information.

"We have asked for it to be updated immediately."

Promoting a More Inclusive Society (Pamis), which runs the website, said it was "very sorry" to hear about Kelly and Penny's issues in Stafford.

It said the group relied on venues to keep it informed about opening times and closures so it could make sure the information was accurate.

"Where this information is incomplete or changes unexpectedly, it can have a real impact on people who depend on it," a spokesperson said.

Stafford Borough Council said it was looking at creating more Changing Places toilets in the town as part of future regeneration plans.

Since 2021, it has been compulsory for new buildings in England to include a Changing Places facility.

Campaigners behind the scheme hope it will make more public spaces accessible to severely disabled adults and children.

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