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MARCH 2010 - SPECIFIERS CHALLENGED TO RAISE STANDARDS IN TOILETING
A man with no legs is challenging specifiers in domestic, commercial and public
environments to make a piece of toileting equipment ‘bog standard’.
Kevin Donnellon, who was born with no legs and stunted arms as a result of his mother having taken the thalidomide drug during her pregnancy, maintains his Clos-o-Mat ‘wash and dry’ toilet at his home in Crosby is more vital to his independence and quality of life than his powered wheelchair, and wants to see the equipment become a standard inclusion in accessible toilet facilities.
“The fact you can’t go to the toilet when you are not at home is a major limiting factor. If I am going out, or away for the weekend with my girlfriend, I have to try and ‘go’ before we leave and hold on until we get back! It limits the places we can go. I can’t even use a standard accessible toilet without someone being with me. A Clos-o-Mat should be a ‘ bog standard’, essential piece of equipment in accessible toilets, not a luxury item. It’s a matter of dignity- would you want someone wiping your bum?
“A Clos-o-Mat costs a fraction of the price of most powered wheelchairs. It is the one assistive aid I would not be without,” he says. “I am just one of tens of thousands of people in the UK who is missing limbs: we live in a society that is supposed to give equal opportunities to all, and it is a basic human right to be able to toilet with dignity.”
Kevin’s rallying call follows on the introduction of the new code of practice for accessible building design, BS8300:2009, which now includes a bespoke section on making toileting more inclusive, and the British Toilet Association highlighting the lack of public conveniences- standard and accessible.
Kevin has had a Clos-o-Mat since he was in his early teens. “It has been a godsend. It gives me back my dignity as I don’t need someone to help me when I go to the toilet, and it gives me the confidence that I am properly clean- if you are reliant on a carer, you are never sure if they have cleaned you as well as you would like: it’s not pleasant for you or them.”
The Clos-o-Mat looks like a conventional WC, but incorporates an integral douche and drier. Simple pressure on the flush triggers simultaneous flushing and warm water douching, followed by warm air drying, eliminating the need to wipe clan with toilet tissue. It is the only unit of its kind developed specifically for disabled people, and the only one to have WRAS approval enabling legal connection to the UK mains water supply.
The Clos-o-Mat was developed and is manufactured in the UK by Total Hygiene. The company has over 30 years’ expertise in developing, supplying and maintaining toileting aids- the only UK company to offer the breadth of supply and support for ‘wash and dry’ toilet products. Today, some 40,000 Clos-o-Mats are in domestic, commercial and public environments in the UK, some of which are still in regular use 30+years after being first installed.
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MARCH 2010 - SPECIFIERS CHALLENGED TO RAISE STANDARDS IN TOILETING
A man with no legs is challenging specifiers in domestic, commercial and public
environments to make a piece of toileting equipment ‘bog standard’.Kevin Donnellon, who was born with no legs and stunted arms as a result of his mother having taken the thalidomide drug during her pregnancy, maintains his Clos-o-Mat ‘wash and dry’ toilet at his home in Crosby is more vital to his independence and quality of life than his powered wheelchair, and wants to see the equipment become a standard inclusion in accessible toilet facilities.
“The fact you can’t go to the toilet when you are not at home is a major limiting factor. If I am going out, or away for the weekend with my girlfriend, I have to try and ‘go’ before we leave and hold on until we get back! It limits the places we can go. I can’t even use a standard accessible toilet without someone being with me. A Clos-o-Mat should be a ‘ bog standard’, essential piece of equipment in accessible toilets, not a luxury item. It’s a matter of dignity- would you want someone wiping your bum?
“A Clos-o-Mat costs a fraction of the price of most powered wheelchairs. It is the one assistive aid I would not be without,” he says. “I am just one of tens of thousands of people in the UK who is missing limbs: we live in a society that is supposed to give equal opportunities to all, and it is a basic human right to be able to toilet with dignity.”
Kevin’s rallying call follows on the introduction of the new code of practice for accessible building design, BS8300:2009, which now includes a bespoke section on making toileting more inclusive, and the British Toilet Association highlighting the lack of public conveniences- standard and accessible.
Kevin has had a Clos-o-Mat since he was in his early teens. “It has been a godsend. It gives me back my dignity as I don’t need someone to help me when I go to the toilet, and it gives me the confidence that I am properly clean- if you are reliant on a carer, you are never sure if they have cleaned you as well as you would like: it’s not pleasant for you or them.”
The Clos-o-Mat looks like a conventional WC, but incorporates an integral douche and drier. Simple pressure on the flush triggers simultaneous flushing and warm water douching, followed by warm air drying, eliminating the need to wipe clan with toilet tissue. It is the only unit of its kind developed specifically for disabled people, and the only one to have WRAS approval enabling legal connection to the UK mains water supply.
The Clos-o-Mat was developed and is manufactured in the UK by Total Hygiene. The company has over 30 years’ expertise in developing, supplying and maintaining toileting aids- the only UK company to offer the breadth of supply and support for ‘wash and dry’ toilet products. Today, some 40,000 Clos-o-Mats are in domestic, commercial and public environments in the UK, some of which are still in regular use 30+years after being first installed.
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