Shared disability toilets with baby changing facilities

It was a shared space and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for there to be shared spaces. The requirements of an accessible toilet is that it is suitably equipped for a person with a disability to use it, so it needs adequate floor space and grab rails etc. The requirement is not for it to be kept empty or free from the non-disabled at all times, it’s okay that somebody (disabled or otherwise) has to queue sometimes. I appreciate it’s difficult if you can’t wait for the toilet but what would you have done if there had been another disabled person in the toilet in front of you? You can’t expect the toilet to always be available I’m afraid, just as the non-disabled facilities won’t always be available either. Needing to queue for a public toilet because somebody else is using it is fairly standard and it’s not reasonable to expect it won’t ever happen.

Space issue. Most places, especially cafes often have a single toilet for male, female and disabled. And disabled is bigger than the other 2 combined. Some have a unisex toilet and disabled. They don't have room for another large space they could fit several paying customers in.

Disabled toilets don't actually get a lot of use comparatively and they occupy a large floor print. By adding the baby change they get double use from same space. At end of the day it was a mum and baby in there but could have been another disabled person. They're not there to get you to a toilet more quickly, but more to have the space needed for any access requirements like wheelchairs, carers etc. What if it had been a dad and only facilities were in the women's?

The mum did nothing wrong using the facilities available to her.

Where my OH and I volunteer there are baby changing facilities in the ladies, the gents and the disabled. It's not to difficult for them to be installed and dad's do change babies as well.

Oh, bless you, @MobilityCat. I’m sorry that happened.

I agree with you totally - there should be more, and better, facilities everywhere.

Ideally in my view, there should be baby changing facilities in both the ladies and gents loos (sometimes dads change babies too) plus in the disabled loos, for those who need more room due to older and therefore larger disabled children needing to be changed.

And most importantly, there should ALWAYS be more than one single, solitary disabled loo.

I agree they should be separate spaces. However, if that's where the baby's changing space was, then the mum did nothing wrong.

If another disabled person was using it, you'd be in the same situation of having to wait - if it's a regular occurance and you can't use the other toilets then maybe wearing incontinence pants will help.

(I have a disability and have disabled children).

nappy changes are rarely relaxing and can take a while. If the baby change is in the disabled toilets then it is what it is and not the parents fault. Unfortunately that means people will have to wait sometimes.

I have IBS and have sudden urgent need to go to the loo, I have soiled myself many times OP.
As there is often a queue for the (non- disabled) loo I tend to wear incontinence pants and carry nappy bags and wipes if I am going out. It’s quite tight sorting my self out in a small cubicle but there is obviously going to be more space for you if you use a disabled toilet.
As even disabled toilets are sometimes going to have a queue, are incontinence pants something you would consider? It’s obviously still unpleasant but it takes away the stress.

Tbh, I have been in the situation where I was changing my baby and someone knocked and called out, obviously a little distressed. I bundled my baby up and finished dressing him outside the toilet. I always felt a bit in the wrong using a baby changing unit in the disabled toilet even when it is the designated space.

It would be more appropriate to put a changing unit in the male and female toilets and keep the disabled toilet for just that purpose.

Chatting and cooing to baby doesn’t make the nappy change slower, sometimes nappy changes can rake a while particularly if it’s a poo nappy. As the disabled toilet is shared with the baby change there’s not much the lady could have done, she had to finish changing her babies nappy and so you unfortunately had to wait, nothing to be done about it and not her fault. I get why you were upset though.

A "long relaxing nappy change"? Are you having a laugh?

There aren't enough disabled facilities for the disabled. Baby change facilities should be elsewhere it's very annoying.

Yes that would have annoyed me too.

Sometimes nappy changes aren't quick. I don't understand why you're so bothered that she was talking to her own baby, but YABU. She was using the facility designated for her, not her fault it's a shared space.

It boils my piss OP to hear someone having a long relaxing change of nappy when I’m outside wrestling my non verbal complex ds praying that I he are not covered in shit by the time they’ve finished singing old McDonald for the umpteenth time.
If I could use any other toilet I would. I would give anything to not need to use the disabled toilet.
I would give my life to make ds NT.

Ok, fair do OP has clarified that meant it took long.

@Purplevelvetshoes

Because she was taking her time. It wasn’t a quick nappy change.

You cannot tell that by the fact she was vocal with her baby.

Ok 3 then!

I would have been furious if she didn’t hurry up after the first notification you were waiting.

How do you know she wasn't disabled and hadn't gone for a wee first?

And the men's?

Ffs that really isn’t the point of the thread and you know it.

I know people complain about having them only in women's but I agree why not have two, one in women's and one in disabled. It's only a wall mounted table it doesn't even cost much to put one in.