Disabled facilities / officer

While I am sure that these facilities meet with the rules, I do often wonder if any disabled people have been involved in advising as to the suitability of what is proposed/provided.  Having assisted my OH in many of these rooms on sites of both clubs I have noticed several things that IMO could be done much better.....

As the OP commented, restraining a lift down shower head so that it cannot be easily used by anyone who needs to sit while showering seems to defeat the purpose, some are even difficult to use when standing.  Surely there must be a way of meeting the water regulations but still keeping the use of the shower sensible?

The use of rather inflexible plastic hoses......these can make it very difficult to direct the spray sensibly when the head is placed on the riser rail.

Temperature adjustment and water pressure......often the temperature cannot be adjusted  enough upwards to give a good hot shower (if that is what you want) and we have found sites where the pressure in the disabled room seems to have been reduced compared to what I have experienced in the ordinary showers.

This is often not helped by the poor choice of shower head style .

Hooks.......these are sometimes fitted only low down and clothes hung on them can trail on the floor.  While a wheelchair user may need low hooks, not all disabled people use a wheelchair, hooks should be fitted at normal as well as low level.

Mirrors.....again often fitted low down above a very low wash basin, and, unless the mirror is large, can mean it is no use to a standing person.

Towel rail......generally not provided.......have you tried hanging a large bath towel on a small hook?!

A surface on which to place equipment or personal items.......usually only a narrow shelf which is generally not well situated and of inadequate size.

Floor........sometimes not well laid, with lack of fall towards the drain allowing water to spread over a large area of the floor.

Shower curtain and rail........some type of rails make it difficult to pull the curtain, especially when fixed high up, and often the enclosed area is too small.  Cue "clingy curtain syndrome"!

Heating......almost always could be better.  Disabled people invariably take longer to get dried and dressed so the level of heating, especially in the colder months, needs to be improved.  (Best room we have used was in Looe, where there is under floor heating)

Draught proofing.......as the entrance door is usually directly from outside, there should be much better draught proofing, it is often decidedly chilly near the door, and this does not help with the temperature in the room.

Layout......when the room is large, why are the toilet and basin often crammed close together in one corner?

Like  peedee and his OH,  we often find using our own facilities much more satisfactory!