To think baby change facilities should just be for that?

It makes perfect sense.

Most reusable nappy users don’t like the idea of sending human shit to landfill or for incineration. When I said ‘wrap it up’ I meant keep it in the nappy and dispose of down the toilet at home.

It wasn't a toilet, and he didn't have a baby. I'm presuming the guy was homeless and using it to try and wash. Was there a sink? That would explain the odour.

Yeah it's unfortunate. If the disabled was free he should probably have used that but then he'd be blocking it from a disabled person.

There should be public showers that people can use if they're homeless. Not public as in exposed, obviously private cubicles etc. but I guess the councils think it would encourage asb or drugs or something.

I mean technically you can wrap up and dispose of later

Would you not wrap it up and dispose of it in the nappy bin with all the other shit?

It’s useful if you are using reusable nappies, to dispose of the solids. I mean technically you can wrap up and dispose of later but much better to get rid of there and then.

You are not making sense was it a combined facility or not ? I mean the man didn't shit in the nappy bin did he?

Given that he was in there 15 minutes and made a stench, it is likely that he has additional needs regarding toiletting.

I would say that a baby in a nappy can more easily wait than this man could, and therefore I think it perfectly reasonable for him to use the facility if the disabled toilet was in use at the time (or locked), which I presume was the case.

He probably needed to change a colostomy bag, which doesn't need a toilet - he would have similar needs for space for undressing/redressing and disposal of substances, and a baby change facility is appropriate. People who have to live with a colostomy bag have a lifelong disability which is frankly a much bigger burden than the short and temporary time of dealing with baby nappies. Him using the baby change if the disabled loo was occupied seems totally reasonable in the same way that I think it's totally reasonable for a disabled driver to use a Parent&Child space at the supermarket if the disabled spaces are all full, and in the same way that it's totally reasonable for wheelchair users to have priority over buggy users on buses. Disabled people's needs are much more important than parent-with-a-baby needs if something needs to be prioritised. Having a baby does not make you the centre of the universe.

The other disabled facilities could have been occupied when he arrived though.

He obviously got there before you so you wouldn’t know

YANBU. Obviously. Nobody should be using the baby change without a baby, especially if there are other facilities available.

No need for there to be a toilet in the baby change at all. Just a table, a sink and a bin.

If he is disabled and the accessible toilet was busy, then there wasn't adequate facilities available.

Apart from the facility he used.

Accessible toilets are for that

ie anyone who needs additional space or facilities

Maybe he needed the disabled due to health issues but it was busy. You’ll never know what’s going on with a stranger so I wouldn’t judge.

I can’t get over the fact that you waited 15 minutes then still used it though! I would have used the changing mat on the floor of the ladies or in the pram. A baby change table is a nice to have but by no means a necessity.

And I do think it makes sense to have a toilet in the baby change for when you need it yourself, or if you’ve got a potty training toddler as well as the baby not to mention that in most places the baby change and the disabled are one of the same so I don’t know how you’d totally avoid the issue. Just one of those things. When the facilities are available great, use them, when they’re not because they’re busy or don’t exist then you get the changing mat out wherever then get on with your day.

Yeah I know, I was saying if there’s no toilet in the baby change, there’s generally not another toilet available that you can take the pram into.

But what if the disabled toilet is in use? Sometimes people really can’t wait. Do you really begrudge someone having a poo if they can’t hold it in?

I think the pp means a dedicated room just for baby changing ie no toilet
Bluewater shopping centre ( southeast) used to have them.
No idea if they still do

If they don’t have a toilet though, you can’t get the pram into a regular cubicle in the ladies’.

YANBU

I will die on the hill of a baby changing room NOT having a toilet in it! I'm with you!
They're a rare find, but always a joy 😄

In situations like this, If I have the car I just change the baby on the back seat or in the boot (people carrier). If not I’d just change it in the pram probably. Life’s too short to stand for 15 mins for a job that I can do in 2 mins. You have no idea why the man needed that toilet, maybe the disabled was occupied when he got there and he was in urgent need. Maybe he doesn’t like using the main toilets because people get judgy about the smell or he just needs peace in a vulnerable position.

The Buildings regs has only required facilities that are fully accessible for changing since 2021 and only for new buildings or those undergoing major refurbishment.
It’s not technically for baby changing though. It’s for disabled people who need one or more people to help them change.

So Technically there’s no actual requirement for baby changing facilities

If a building is older than 2021 and providing the facility they don’t have to
so the inclusion of baby changing spaces is very much a case of squeezing one in where they can.

I think it’s a case of be thankful there’s something. I used to change ours in the car if I was out and about

That's true actually.

Whilst obviously unpleasant, the smell is irrelevant.

It's possible the accessible toilet was busy when he needed it.

I don’t think it’s worth dwelling on. Maybe the men’s cubicles were all in use and he had to go urgently, maybe they were out of order, maybe he has stomach issues and needed the privacy and washbasin to hand for cleaning but is worried about not “looking disabled” for the disabled toilet, maybe he just wasn’t thinking. Who knows. Life is full of minor inconveniences, and the store would probably see it as having changing facilities available, not having changing facilities exclusive.

How it smelled after was irrelevant really. If there was a toilet in there then any other parent before you could also have used the toilet and left it smelly. It’s just how shit is.