Changing rooms for people with disabilities

[ListersSister]

I just wondered as I was in an M&S yesterday, which has recently been refitted. It now has just 3 changing rooms for the entire ladies section (mad, I know). One of these has been adapted for use by people with disabilities - fab!

Hwr, the queue was taking forever to go down, because people weren't using the adapted changing room. I asked the people in front of my why not and they said they would feel bad. When I got to the front I did use it. Was I wrong? I was certainly in the minority.

I would never park in a disabled bay, but a changing room seems different. Should people with disabilities not have to queue to and expect to have a room available immediately? I am sure there are many instances where people with disabilities may need quick access to facilities etc etc, but then if the room is in use then surely that person can quickly vacate?

Am I being unreasonable?

I'm usually shown to the disabled changing room, especially in GAp and NEXT, as I usually have at least 1 DC, with me.

you should be able to use it I think and a disabled person could wait in line until you had finished - it's not as though it's a loo or something a person might need urgently

Would it be appropriate for M&S to label this changing room as multi-purpose, i.e. suitable for use by disabled customers and ablebodied customers, this would perhaps be more inclusive?

yes, that'd be sensible

i think you were right. while i accept that there are many things that the disabled need help with for practical reasons (e.g. parking spaces near the shops/wider, seats on the bus etc) i don't think the answer to inequality/discrimination is to single out all disabled people as completely incapable of doint things such as waiting in line if they are able for it (i'd imagine there will be reasons for certain disabilities being unable to do this and i accept that).
my father has been disabled all his life but a big part of the reason that he has been as successful as he is, is because where possible he has simply refused to acknowledge his disability (i know many can not do this but his is not of such a severe nature so he can).
i think things like a multi purpose changing room would be great as compared to having one changing room free but not being used when others are waiting, this leads to many people developing a negative and patronising attitude to those with disabilities. i/.e they complain that it is A) PC gone mad B) the disabled are completely helpless and can not do things such as wait in line C) half of them are scamming the system for benefits.

i was so surprised to be shown into the 'disabled' changing room in river island in ipswich the other day, there was a very long queue and tbh i think it was a very good idea on the part of the changing room girl to use it!, i would certainly have stepped aside for any disabled lady waiting to use it but there were none in the queue.

never having used a disabled change room before i was quite impressed with the facility, please let me know if my initial reaction was wrong though!

An accessible changing room, I would say, is not the same thing as a "disabled" parking bay. The point of the parking bay is that it is located closer to the shop or whatever so that the disabled person has less far to travel. This obviously doesn't apply to the changing room, the point of which is that it is big enough for a wheelchair user or someone with walking aids and/or who needs an attendant/carer to assist them.

I would have no issue whatsoever with using an accessible changing room just as I will happily use a "disabled" toilet, especially if I have dd with me. I would be perfectly happy to allow a disabled person to use the changing room ahead of me on the grounds that there were 3 cubicles I could use but only one that she could. Avoiding using it altogether is silly if there is no disabled person waiting.

I would have no problem at all in using a disabled accessible changing room.

One question though for all of you who say you'd let a disabled person use the cubicle before you - how would you know?? Not all disabled people walk with limps or come with wheelchairs.

I would have used it. As I see it, it's a changing room suitable for use by people with disabilities, not for the exclusive use of a disabled person.

yes I would have used it

I have a disabled dd; it is a nightmare trying to try clothes on in a tight space

I don't mind waiting and certainly wouldn't expect to jump a queue; it's the space you want, not the speed

no not just wheelchairs fio

also people - very small people - with crutches or tripod sticks, who have poor co-ordination

a woman could lose an eye

I'm surprised M&S didn't have a memeber of staff on duty at the changing rooms. They always do at our M&S.

This M&S hardly had any staff - I only found one person on the shop floor and one on a till - and this is not a small, quiet store!

Glad to see my reaction was, at least on here, quite reasonable. For some reason, people in my local M&S are very afraid of offending anyone, but then it is a very right on place

BTW, the non-adapted changing rooms were not too bad - you could prob get a single buggy in there with you, but less room for twirling around (that is if you do twirl in M&S...)