The alarm system in toilets isn’t often useful for people that collapse. With seizures, hypos and heart attacks there is either a period of confusion or no notice at all. Strokes sometimes people will be aware enough to release to pull a cord. It also appears women being attacked inside cubicles don’t pull a cord either - certainly this is the case historically in disabled toilets.
There’s actually a few physiological things that happen when you strain which put pressure on the body. That’s why paramedics say bathrooms and toilet rooms is where they get called to - it’s also the place people head to if they are feeling ill. There’s a heart attack and a stroke once every 5 minutes in this country.
The only safe design is to have a decent floor to door gap and preferably one at the top of the door too. That’s why that was a standard design until recently. It means people can see if there is a body on the floor and how many people are in a cubicle.
The irony is that epilepsy is a disability but if you are on your own, the disabled toilets are more dangerous than the traditional single sex design as the disabled toilets don’t have door gaps at the bottom for visibility.
Document T (2024) was the government attempt at getting public toilet designs right but they fail women and anyone having a medical emergency. Mixed sexed toilets including the accessible one specify there should be full enclosure. They do recognise that bodies get in the way so all fully enclosed toilets should have a mechanism to open the door outwards from the outside. In practise this will be usually a pin or mechanism around the hinges. It may require the correct staff member of a venue to be available, be knowledgeable and have special tools. It may be easier but then it also means people can let themselves in to a completely private and acoustically sound cubicle when the occupants aren’t expecting it. There are situations where this has happened.
Although the government stated that single sex toilets should be priority they say the fully enclosed design (with a sink) can be used for single sex toilets so people don’t have a safe choice. And the single sex design (without a sink) doesn’t specify gaps so it’s up to the venue what they decide to do.
@GCEpileptic you are right that there are so many dangerous designs. It is because there are more mixed sex toilets. You are not that small a demographic though upto 1% of the population has epilepsy and 10% of the population will have at least one seizure. The government commissioned a private construction company to look at long term health conditions and toilet design. The company didn’t mention epilepsy, diabetes, heart attacks, asthma in their 171 page report. They recommended fully enclosed toilets to the government for this demographic and the evidence listed was an American article stating this design was favoured by transactivists and was seen in trendy New York nightclubs.
Worst is secondary schools. Now the standard DfE toilet cubicle design for single sex and mixed sex toilets only has a 5mm gap at the top and bottom of the door. This, I think, is actually against the Equality Act as there will always be several pupils with epilepsy, diabetes and heart conditions within a school. Plus others having one off seizures from illness or drugs (spiked vapes a new threat). It’s certainly not Keeping Children Safe in Education.
It’s really late so hope this isn’t too jumbled and makes sense. If you need any more info please pm me.