Battersea Power Station drives accessibility through new stoma-friendly toilets

Battersea Power Station launched 35 stoma-friendly toilets earlier this month as part of their ongoing mission to make the venue accessible for everyone.

In October this year the power station installed shelves in its toilets as part of Colostomy UK’s campaign to make toilets stoma-friendly. The change also comes ahead of a Government petition to create official guidance on stoma-friendly toilets, which is due to close early next month. 

The shelves provide a hygienic surface to balance supplies on and without this people are forced to choose between not visiting a venue or risking infecting their equipment. Lauren Ross, digital marketing executive at Colostomy UK, said: “Accessibility isn’t just about having an accessible toilet, it’s about ensuring people can use it safely and comfortably.” 

The shelves, alongside pre-existing mirrors, hooks, bins and signage, allow all of the plant’s disabled toilets to meet Colostomy UK’s guidelines. This means they are now accessible for individuals with a colostomy bag, which is estimated to be around 200,000 people within the UK.

Whilst most shopping centres in the UK have disabled toilets, there are less than 1,500 venues that meet the stoma-friendly guidance given by Colostomy UK and only four of these are in Wandsworth. 

However, Battersea Power Station is supporting the charity with their campaign and are currently working with other venues, including their competitor Westfield, to help them implement the changes.

The upgrades are, luckily, simple and inexpensive for businesses to implement. JP Hewlett, senior operations manager at Battersea Power Station, said: “We found an option that cost £8 per shelf and the total cost was less than £300.”

This means that people can visit without the worry of not being able to access a toilet and Hewlett said their “hope is to see more places take on the scheme.”