Wet Floors in Disabled toilets

[Bookworm9]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this but here goes.

Has anyone had any problems with wet floors in disabled toilets please?
I don't mean around the loo itself but from the sink.
I am particularly interested in the larger more well known stores in towns and cities and, what steps they have taken to stop water from the sink splashing onto the floors.

Any help at all would be appreciated. TY.

[joko]

what can they do? if people splash, the water will go on the floor - its a law of physics!

all they can do is have regular checks to wipe it up, or install a sloped floor and drain - but that would affect the wheelchairs.

i would think people on their feet are more at risk from injury by slipping than someone in a wheelchair

[Bookworm9]

Thanks for your input Joko but not all disabled people are in wheelchairs some are "walking wounded" so to speak. and just need the assistance of the rails and higher loos.
I am trying to find out if anyone has slipped on the disabled floors due to it being wet and not of the right surface for a toilet.

[CheekyChops]

But surely the same would also apply to non-disabled? They could still slip if splashes from the basin weren't cleared up quickly. I'm thinking more of the elderly, who aren't disabled but nor are they as steady on their feet as your average person.

[RATTER15]

The wet floors shouldn't be a problem if they have the correct anti-slip flooring but if not it is a big problem for people with crutches especially.

When the crutch makes initial contact with the ground it is at an angle and only a small part of the rubber ferule is actually making contact allowing it to slip on an unsuitable surface, there is also quite a lot of weight being applied at this point and should it then slip, even an able bodied person would struggle to re-gain their balance let alone a person with walking difficulties.

[Bookworm9]

Ahhhh Ratteris, this is my point exactly.
Some of the larger well known stores don't have the anti slip floors, just the ordinary vinyl flooring which, as you say when you have to use crutches or walking sticks is very dangerous.
I have been the unfortunate victim of such an accident in the disabled loo in a well known store. It has been reported many times to the store who have done nothing to rectify the situation resulting in a very nasty fall. I was just wondering how many others out there have had the same problem,

[RATTER15]

You need to write a very strong letter to the store concerned and even make a claim for injury if you were injured, that may make them sit up and take note!!! My partner is on crutches and I work in a care home with the elderly so I know how difficult and dangerous these things are sometimes.

[RATTER15]

We have just had an anti-slip floor put into our bathroom, they really are brilliant and very nice to look at and totally slip proof!!!

[Bookworm9]

Thank you for your reply Ratter15.
I have put the whole thing into the hands of a solicitor now as this happened back in November '06 and I am still suffering from some of the injuries. I had whiplash in my neck, put my shoulder out of joint and trapped a nerve, broke some ribs and twisted my pelvis. Being already disabled this has taken more of a toll on my health. So far the store in question has reputed that they are to blame but the solicitor is tring to find out if anyone else has reported this store for having wet floors hence my query in the fisrt place. I really didn't know where else to go to find out.
I agree with you about the non slip flooring, we have just had some put down in our bathroom and kitchen and to be honest it is warmer than carpet. I would suggest to anyone disables ot not to get these anti slip flooring put down, for their own safety.

[RATTER15]

Bookworm9 Good for you, I hate this culture of claiming compensation for every single accident but in this case you are doing the right thing, we all know we slip and hurt our selves but the disabled should not be slipping in a disabled toilet, especially when the solution is so simple and at a realistic cost.

My partner nearly slipped up on the hospital ward 2 days after her total knee replacement, she was coming back to the ward from the toilet, not realising that the floor was being mopped (no signs out) when her crutch slipped away from her on the slippery floor, she was very fortunate that I was assisting her with her walking and was bearing some of weight at the time or she would have had a very nasty fall!!! She is going into hospital on Tuesday for the next knee replacement, I will be keeping an eye out for the mop and bucket this time!!!

[Carakeel]

Hi Bookworm. I think you are right to get a solicitor on to this. I am RATTER's partner and as he has said, have had similar experiences. Another thing that has annoyed me on occasion is when a store has a disabled toilet, but the actual loo is a children's size one and very low. It can make it nearly impossible, dangerous and very painful for an adult disabled person to use. Disabled children generally will have an adult with them who can lift them on and off the toilet. I think they put in these little loos as the disabled toilets often double as the baby changing facilities and they expect that mothers may have toddlers in tow. But it defeats the whole purpose of having a disabled toilet in the first place!

[leylander]

some people cant help splashing and should be made to carry a mop around with them

[Zeddy]

Remember your local Environmental Health dept in the council conduct health and safety inspections of premises such as shops and restaurants and are more than likely to be interested in getting the problem sorted.

[Bookworm9]

Hi all and sorry that I have not been back on line to answer you all. I have been in a lot of pain and not even switched on my beloved pc lol.
Now Carakeel, what you said make me angry as well. Wht the heck do they put a low level loo in a disabled toilet? My mum is in a wheelchair and following a hip replacement we have been known to walk out of one loo to try to find another as the loo was just too low for her to get on to.
I think that if a place is going to have a disable loo then there should be someone or somewhere that checks them before they are allowed to let the public use them. There must be some sort of regulations for this type of thing - if not there should be.
As well as being disabled myself I also look after my mother and when we take her out my mother in law both of whom are in wheelchairs (not easy when you can't move yourself lol) I took my mother in law to a supermarket loo where as you say, it doubles as a baby changing room. The loo was small to start with but the baby changing cradle would not stay folded up to the wall so it took up half the room. My mother in law is blind and deaf and could not understand why I could not get near to her to help her. Everytim I push the thing up to the wall it crashed down on me again. When I told the staff, they were not really interested.

[Bookworm9]

Now then Leylander.
You are right in a way about carrying a mop around with them but when I have taken both my eldery mum and mum in law to the loo if they have made a mess either near the loo or near the wash basin I just get some loo paper and clean up after them, it's dead simple and if everyone else did the same thing then my accident would not have happened. I guess we just have to accept that there are some mucky people around who don't care how they leave things.

Now Zeddy.
When I fell in the store apparently if a person is taken to hospital then the Health and Safety dept. of the City Council have to be told of it.
The heaalth inspector went out to have a look at it and rang me up saying she was not satisfied with the flooring and that they have put down a mat to soak up the water. She is not happy with this either because as she said mats curl up at the edges and that is another accident waiting to happen.

Up to this point it seems like my solicitor is going to have to take them to court as the head office for the store are saying all the floors in all the loos around the UK are the same (should they all be changed then, they are not non slip?) and they are not responsible for my fall. My solicitor is now looking for a Barrister to take on the case. I am not looking forward to going to court over this and don't know if I can as stress makes my illness worse, but this store has just announced its yearly profits and they are in the six figure range so, why the heck can't they spend some of that on their disabled loos?

I am sorry once again for having to answer you all together like this and thanks for your input on it, I can see it is going to be a long drawn out job.