Toilet access improvements for people with bladder and bowel conditions

At the Full Council meeting yesterday (Thursday 15 December), councillors agreed that the authority will champion the national 'Just Can't Wait Card' scheme.

The Just Can't Wait Card campaign has been established by national charity the Bladder and Bowel Community.  It aims to give people urgent access to toilets that are not usually accessible to members of the public and is already supported by many service and retail organisations. More than 170,000 people carry the Just Can't Wait card across the UK and in Lancashire, the number is rising.

By supporting the scheme, Lancashire County Council has committed to run a campaign to raise awareness with its staff, on social media and across Lancashire of the ‘Just Can’t Wait Card’. It will make all Lancashire County Council public buildings, where practical, accessible for people carrying this card.

County Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "Thousands of people suffer from invisible disabilities which mean they often need to use the toilet urgently. The stress and anxiety this causes can mean they don't want to leave the house.

"The Just Can't Wait Card is a great scheme, which gives people the confidence to go out to work, to the shops and to take part in other day-to-day activities.

"I am pleased that the county council has agreed to support this important scheme."

In addition, full council also agreed to ask its scrutiny management board to consider how it might further promote the scheme. It also requested that the council leader makes the next Lancashire leaders' meeting aware of the initiative, placing it on the agenda and asking the council leaders and their respective councils across the county to give it their support.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health, said: "Crohn's disease, colitis, bladder disorders and other conditions which mean people may need to use the toilet very urgently can be debilitating.

"This is a widespread issue, there are more than 14million people in the UK living with a bladder condition and 6.4million with a bowel condition.

"Research carried out by the Bladder and Bowel Community has revealed that people with these conditions can feel trapped in their own home.

"Making more public toilets available is crucial and I'm pleased the county council is supporting the initiative. We will now work on plans for the scheme's introduction across our buildings."

Lancashire County Council will publish further details on the introduction of the scheme across its buildings in due course.