Disabled facilities / officer

Posted on 28/10/2019 18:52 by TobyLeeds

I recently visited the Malvern site and found all the flexible hoses in the disabled and adapted showers fixed to the wall with Muston rings allowing only about 20 cm of free movement. Clearly this made showering difficult for the disabled.

after several emails to head office I was told that the club did not have a disabilities officer! It seems strange that a club employing so many people and with a membership, many who may have a disability, does not have an officer specifically for disability issues. 

What does the membership think?

Posted on 31/10/2019 07:22 by Rocky 2 buckets

Disability Officer?, I did some research out of interest as I’ve not heard of a DO. They are mainly found in education facilities ie-colleges, universities & schools👍🏻. Every day is a school day(no pun intended).

Posted on 01/11/2019 16:09 by peedee

Just to shed more light on this, I had lunch today with a friend who works in a school for children with special needs so I asked if they had a Disability Officer. I was advised they have a SENCO (Special Needs Co-ordinating Officer) I guess this is the correct title for the Disability Officer referred to by the OP. This is someone trained to ensure individual needs are met. There may well be such people in other schools which accept children with special needs but these are most likely to be teachers who fulfil the role on a part time basis.

peedee

Posted on 31/10/2019 09:53 by EmilysDad

Maybe a water authority requirement but why only ever seen on club sites? 😕

Posted on 01/11/2019 16:09 by peedee

Just to shed more light on this, I had lunch today with a friend who works in a school for children with special needs so I asked if they had a Disability Officer. I was advised they have a SENCO (Special Needs Co-ordinating Officer) I guess this is the correct title for the Disability Officer referred to by the OP. This is someone trained to ensure individual needs are met. There may well be such people in other schools which accept children with special needs but these are most likely to be teachers who fulfil the role on a part time basis.

peedee

Posted on 29/10/2019 21:11 by KjellNN

While I am sure that these facilities meet with the rules, I do often wonder if any disabled people have been involved in advising as to the suitability of what is proposed/provided.  Having assisted my OH in many of these rooms on sites of both clubs I have noticed several things that IMO could be done much better.....

As the OP commented, restraining a lift down shower head so that it cannot be easily used by anyone who needs to sit while showering seems to defeat the purpose, some are even difficult to use when standing.  Surely there must be a way of meeting the water regulations but still keeping the use of the shower sensible?

The use of rather inflexible plastic hoses......these can make it very difficult to direct the spray sensibly when the head is placed on the riser rail.

Temperature adjustment and water pressure......often the temperature cannot be adjusted  enough upwards to give a good hot shower (if that is what you want) and we have found sites where the pressure in the disabled room seems to have been reduced compared to what I have experienced in the ordinary showers.

This is often not helped by the poor choice of shower head style .

Hooks.......these are sometimes fitted only low down and clothes hung on them can trail on the floor.  While a wheelchair user may need low hooks, not all disabled people use a wheelchair, hooks should be fitted at normal as well as low level.

Mirrors.....again often fitted low down above a very low wash basin, and, unless the mirror is large, can mean it is no use to a standing person.

Towel rail......generally not provided.......have you tried hanging a large bath towel on a small hook?!

A surface on which to place equipment or personal items.......usually only a narrow shelf which is generally not well situated and of inadequate size.

Floor........sometimes not well laid, with lack of fall towards the drain allowing water to spread over a large area of the floor.

Shower curtain and rail........some type of rails make it difficult to pull the curtain, especially when fixed high up, and often the enclosed area is too small.  Cue "clingy curtain syndrome"!

Heating......almost always could be better.  Disabled people invariably take longer to get dried and dressed so the level of heating, especially in the colder months, needs to be improved.  (Best room we have used was in Looe, where there is under floor heating)

Draught proofing.......as the entrance door is usually directly from outside, there should be much better draught proofing, it is often decidedly chilly near the door, and this does not help with the temperature in the room.

Layout......when the room is large, why are the toilet and basin often crammed close together in one corner?

Like  peedee and his OH,  we often find using our own facilities much more satisfactory!

Posted on 29/10/2019 21:11 by KjellNN

While I am sure that these facilities meet with the rules, I do often wonder if any disabled people have been involved in advising as to the suitability of what is proposed/provided.  Having assisted my OH in many of these rooms on sites of both clubs I have noticed several things that IMO could be done much better.....

As the OP commented, restraining a lift down shower head so that it cannot be easily used by anyone who needs to sit while showering seems to defeat the purpose, some are even difficult to use when standing.  Surely there must be a way of meeting the water regulations but still keeping the use of the shower sensible?

The use of rather inflexible plastic hoses......these can make it very difficult to direct the spray sensibly when the head is placed on the riser rail.

Temperature adjustment and water pressure......often the temperature cannot be adjusted  enough upwards to give a good hot shower (if that is what you want) and we have found sites where the pressure in the disabled room seems to have been reduced compared to what I have experienced in the ordinary showers.

This is often not helped by the poor choice of shower head style .

Hooks.......these are sometimes fitted only low down and clothes hung on them can trail on the floor.  While a wheelchair user may need low hooks, not all disabled people use a wheelchair, hooks should be fitted at normal as well as low level.

Mirrors.....again often fitted low down above a very low wash basin, and, unless the mirror is large, can mean it is no use to a standing person.

Towel rail......generally not provided.......have you tried hanging a large bath towel on a small hook?!

A surface on which to place equipment or personal items.......usually only a narrow shelf which is generally not well situated and of inadequate size.

Floor........sometimes not well laid, with lack of fall towards the drain allowing water to spread over a large area of the floor.

Shower curtain and rail........some type of rails make it difficult to pull the curtain, especially when fixed high up, and often the enclosed area is too small.  Cue "clingy curtain syndrome"!

Heating......almost always could be better.  Disabled people invariably take longer to get dried and dressed so the level of heating, especially in the colder months, needs to be improved.  (Best room we have used was in Looe, where there is under floor heating)

Draught proofing.......as the entrance door is usually directly from outside, there should be much better draught proofing, it is often decidedly chilly near the door, and this does not help with the temperature in the room.

Layout......when the room is large, why are the toilet and basin often crammed close together in one corner?

Like  peedee and his OH,  we often find using our own facilities much more satisfactory!

Posted on 31/10/2019 10:40 by

Probably because the taps have been replaced when refurbished since a change in the regs required that anti backflow taps have an air gap rather than a spring? Only a guess. No idea otherwise.

Posted on 01/11/2019 16:35 by moulesy

I believe the latest designation is actually SENDCO (special educational needs and disability coordinator!) They do a crucial job in schools which are becoming ever and ever more stretched in dealing with such pupils due to swingeing cuts in the numbers of Teaching Assistants over the past few years.

I only know this because Mrs M has been exchanging emails with the SENDCO at one of our local primary schools where she is going to be taking Lady in to help with their "Reading to Dogs" scheme.