A national consortium which campaigns for the provision of specially-adapted washroom facilities has adopted an innovative system which has been developed by a Derby company to help raise standards across the UK.
The Changing Places Consortium – co-chaired by Muscular Dystrophy UK – has campaigned for more than a decade for fully-accessible toilets for people with severe disabilities who need extra equipment and space to use toilets safely and with dignity.
More than 1,300 Changing Places facilities are now registered across the UK but many areas still lack adequate provision.
Monitoring the Changing Places network will now be far easier thanks to Cleen – the UK’s first fully integrated washroom services management tool and review app – which has been developed by Hygiene Services Group (HSG) in Pride Park.
Cleen enables washroom users to log and publish reviews – good and bad – via a free app that is easily downloaded onto a smartphone.
The Cleen app has a special area for reviews of Changing Places toilets which can be published on issues such as faulty bed hoists and unreachable emergency cords as well as cleanliness issues.
Alternatively, users can highlight positive experiences which are shared publicly on the app for others to encourage others to visit the venue.
Washroom services and water conservation specialists HSG has provided Changing Places and equipment suppliers in the washrooms with a free Cleen Dashboard.
This will notify the equipment providers and consortium instantly of issues highlighted via the Cleen App so that appropriate action can be taken.
HSG is now working with venues who have Changing Places washrooms on site to enable them to have their own individual dashboards so that they can also monitor reviews, take action and post positive reviews themselves.
Facility providers can also purchase the Cleen Tablet which are installed in or near washrooms and enables reviews to be posted directly on site without a smartphone.
The partnership was officially launched at an event at Leeds City Museum on Friday (July 19) to mark Changing Places awareness day.
Clare Lucas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Muscular Dystrophy UK, which co-chairs the Changing Places Consortium, said: “Having access to a well-equipped toilet is a matter of respect and dignity for people who are severely disabled.
“However, the stark reality is that without enough Changing Places many disabled people face the choice of not going out or being changed on dirty floors. They are denied a basic human right: using a toilet.
“We’re delighted that Cleen is supporting Changing Places. We look forward to working together to campaign for a more inclusive society.”
HSG Managing Director Simon Rice developed Cleen with the aim of improving the world one washroom at a time.
He continued: “Everyone deserves access to clean, safe and accessible washroom facilities and raising industry standards is a particular passion of mine.
“We developed Cleen to enable anyone using a washroom in all kinds of venues to review their experience from restaurants, service stations and theatres to shopping centres, airports and hospitals.
“We were however particularly keen to have a special section on the app for Changing Places facilities in recognition of the particular challenges that so many people across the UK face simply by enjoying a day out or travelling from A to B.
“By providing the Changing Places consortium and their equipment providers with the Cleen Dashboard management tool, I hope that we can make a difference.
“Businesses, venues and even local communities who have invested in Changing Places facilities have already shown that they care about the quality of life of the many thousands of people who need and deserve these specially-adapted washroom facilities.
“By signing up to the Cleen Dashboard themselves, negative reviews can be swiftly rectified and customer relationships strengthened by proving that venues are responsive to feedback. Likewise, positive reviews are a good advertisement and marketing tool for a venue.”
The Cleen App is free to download onto a smartphone and enables washroom users to log reviews of washroom facilities in any type of venue. For more information please visit www.cleen.world or search the app store in Apple or Android.
For more information about Changing Places and to see the map of facilities across the UK, please visit http://www.changing-places.org