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Surrey Coalition of Disabled People

14th October 2020

Surrey Coalition of Disabled People ask for your support in raising awareness of the ‘Just Can’t Wait Card’ and the need for some disabled people to use a toilet urgently. We have heard some extremely distressing reports from members of our East Disability Empowerment Network Group who have faced embarrassing and undignified situations due to the closure of many public toilets (partly due to Covid-19) and the lack of understanding from shops and businesses as to why they should be allowed to use their facilities.

This is an area of concern because this is having a huge impact on disabled peoples independence and their ability to be able to travel to work and other activities. It is not only people with long-term health conditions who are affected – pregnancy and ageing can affect the ability to “hold on”, so many other potential customers are deterred from going out to the shops too.

It is estimated that a staggering 14 million people in the UK suffer from some form of bladder condition and 6.5 million with a bowel condition. That means that a large portion of the population who could start to leave the home or go back to work have been left trapped at home fear of having an accident whilst out. Surrey Coalition of Disabled People Astolat Coniers Way Burpham Guildford Surrey, GU4 7HL

More info on the card: https://www.bladderandbowel.org/help-information/just-cant-wait-card/