We call for urgent action to ensure that every major hospital in Northern Ireland provides a fully accessible Changing Places facility.

Changing Places toilets are essential for thousands of disabled people who cannot use standard accessible toilets. These facilities provide vital equipment such as a height-adjustable adult changing bench, ceiling hoist, privacy screen, and enough space for carers to help safely.

Without Changing Places facilities, many families and individuals face unsafe, undignified, and distressing situations.

My own family has experienced this first-hand. We have had to change my sister, Ellie, on the floor of hospital toilets because there was no suitable alternative. As Ellie has grown, this is no longer physically possible — and it has become far too unsafe for all of us. We now face the constant stress of how to manage her basic needs during essential hospital visits, and sometimes we are forced to delay or avoid appointments entirely.

This is not dignity. This is not equality. And it should not be happening in our healthcare system.

Right now, only two hospitals in Northern Ireland have a registered Changing Places facility, leaving most patients, carers, visitors, and staff without the accessible support they need.

We urge the Department of Health and all HSC Trusts to:

• Install a Changing Places facility in every acute and community hospital across Northern Ireland as a priority.

• Allocate dedicated funding to ensure these facilities are properly built, equipped, and maintained.

• Publish a clear rollout plan with realistic timelines.

• Ensure all new hospital developments and refurbishments include fully compliant Changing Places facilities as standard.

• Work with the Changing Places Consortium to ensure all facilities are registered, accessible, and easy for families to locate.

Northern Ireland is falling behind the rest of the UK in providing equitable, dignified toileting facilities for disabled people. Hospitals — places where people already experience stress, illness, or vulnerability — must be safe and accessible for everyone.

Families should never have to choose between dignity and essential healthcare. No child, teenager, or adult — like Ellie — should ever be forced onto a hospital toilet floor because the correct facilities do not exist.

Every person who enters a hospital deserves safety, dignity, and respect.

We call on decision makers to take immediate action and ensure that Changing Places facilities become standard in every hospital across Northern Ireland.