‘Concerns over toilets a barrier to high street for some’
Features writer Laura Reid lives with digestive condition IBS. She shares her views on why toilet challenges are making a return to the high street tricky for some.
WHEN I first wrote about some of the challenges of living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in The Yorkshire Post newspaper last year, I highlighted how uncertainty about when a flare up might strike prompted a lot of anxiety.
For those who don’t know, IBS is a condition that affects the digestive system, causing symptoms including stomach cramps, diarrhoea, bloating and constipation.
I’ve had symptoms for as long as I can remember; there’s no cure and the exact cause is unknown. Like many people with bladder and bowel conditions, I find myself constantly thinking about where the nearest toilet is and whether I can access it quickly if needed.
In a society that has sadly seen numerous public toilets closed in the past few years, getting out and about without researching routes and toilet stops can be a challenge, and is rarely without worry. Perhaps never has this issue been more stark than now, as lockdown restrictions are eased and society begins to ‘reopen’ after the coronavirus shutdown.
Some toilets remain completely shut. Others are open but have somewhat restricted facilities due to necessary social distancing requirements, meaning fewer are available overall.
Popping into a supermarket loo, which has been a lifeline for me on many occasion, is not straightforward, with queuing outside many of the larger stores and other alternative options such as nipping into a pub or restaurant (and purchasing a drink) to use the facilities are also not on the table.
I’ve avoided supermarket shopping almost entirely since lockdown began for fear of being caught short in the queues.
And, though in all honesty I’m in no hurry to get back to the shops and am personally still minimising contact with the ‘outside world’, the toilet situation is a big barrier to me in terms of accessing the high street.
If toilets and access to them remain limited, it’s definitely going to put me off heading out and about.
I’m not alone either. Last week, I contributed to a BBC article on how ‘toilet fears’ are hampering a high street return for some.
Within it, a comment from charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK highlights how local councils and shopping centres opening public toilets would “dramatically improve the quality of life” for people with conditions that require toilet access, as long as they can be opened safely.
The story was among the top 10 most read on the BBC website last Wednesday morning and it’s perhaps not surprising it garnered so much interest.
After all, let us not forget that using the loo is a basic human need for all of us, whether you have a medical condition or not.
The Government says councils are responsible for public toilets and their advice is that if people need to use any facilities, they practise social distancing and good hygiene.
I’m sure many will be concerned about whether toilets could pose a risk in the spread of the coronavirus and the top priority has to be keeping people safe.
However, as lockdown restrictions are lifted, this must be balanced finely with people’s basic needs when out and about.
Perhaps greater consideration ought to be given to this as part of the national bounceback strategy.
Making as many toilets as possible available for people to use in as safe a way as possible will provide more people with the encouragement, opportunity and reassurance needed to get back to the high street.
And that’s surely a necessary part of the nation’s much-needed economic recovery.