Ah thank you. Housing Associations may be classed as domestic? My research is non-domestic ie anything outside the home. However, there are crossovers particularly with vulnerable people with medical conditions. I would always advise you should be able to get into a toilet quickly and for extra safety for known vulnerabilities be able to take off the door take a pin out the hinge so anyone collapsed against the door can be removed promptly. For deaf people there should ideally be a visual as well as audible fire alarm in the bathroom/toilet room.
Probably questions for health and safety in non domestic toilets are like similar ones I gave to the Department of Education. Their guidance suggests that all secondary school toilets are built for privacy (only a 5mm floor to door gap).
I compiled this list after various email exchanges so it probably makes more sense why I am being so specific when you had read discussions I had with them about incidents in schools. But you should get the gist.
This is the foi I sent:
Assessments for the standard door gaps being 5mm in secondary school toilet cubicles.
For secondary schools, the DfE now states a floor to ceiling toilet cubicle system shall be used for increased pupil privacy with a maximum gap of 5mm between the finished floor level and the bottom of the door and between the top of the door and the ceiling. This is the DfE standard to be adhered to unless stated otherwise as a specific requirement within the School Specific Brief.
I would like to make a freedom of information request for the equality impact assessments of 5mm door gaps in secondary school toilet cubicles for:
A) Pupils with diagnosed or undiagnosed disabilities and medical conditions: epilepsy, diabetes, heart conditions, POTS, and acquired brain injuries. In particular, given that a lack of oxygen can start damaging the brain within four minutes, the effect of rescue times and keeping these vulnerable pupils safe.
B) Female pupils, due to the higher sex-related crime incidences of sexual assaults and rape in schools. Serious assaults typically take place in private.
Similarly, I would like to request the risk assessments for 5mm door gaps in secondary school toilet cubicles for:
C) Pupils who are having medical emergencies such as strokes, mental health crises or seizures due to drug spikings or illness.
D) Emergency building evacuation times and rescue times.
E) Sanitation inside cubicles, in terms of disease spread, reduced ventilation and ability to wash floors and walls down thoroughly.
F) Crimes, such as drug dealing and drug taking.
This is the response I got: I have dealt with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Following a search of the Department’s paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by this Department.
I chased it up, but came to a dead end. No one could give me risk assessments or equality impact assessments. They did say, in several emails, it’s guidance and it’s not their responsibility if something goes wrong as schools have to abide by 1974 legislation and disability regs and KCSIE etc.
There’s a trend for modern school toilet blocks to have enclosed mixed sex toilet cubicles then shared sinks all in an open communal space (no outer door). This pushes misuse into private, mixed sex cubicles. This is also the design commonly favoured by transactivist designers. Schools are therefore a good example of where ‘inclusive’ design all goes wrong.
Door gaps in non-domestic toilets are known to be advantageous for supervision, prevention of misuse, ventilation and cleaning. In a mixed sex environment you can’t have these health and safety benefits because of privacy concerns.
Basically we don’t want more private enclosed toilets in public spaces. They don’t work. The ones we have already (accessible) are misused. We need to keep those under so much supervision and care. They have alarms etc to mitigate problems but never as good as a simple door gap for preventing misuse.
Jolyon’s crusade will only lead to more mixed sex, private toilets. There is no other possible conclusion. That’s worse for the health and safety of everyone but mostly for anyone who is medically vulnerable, women and children.
Let me know how he gets on. It’s very detailed, complicated and rules change from country to country within the U.K. But hey, Jolyon seems to want to rip it all up.
I don’t like linking to real life examples much. But with a quick google you should be able to find lots of incidents in toilets. Getting trapped is very common in domestic as well as non-domestic.