Changing Places Toilet with limited space and an odd layout
3
3
Date of visit: October 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair
Overall Rating
Average
This Changing Places toilet was a strange layout that I got slightly stuck in because space was so limited. This isn't helped by the fact that this rooms seems to double up as a first aid room and has a large cupboard with first aid materials in it. It has a toilet, sink, colostomy shelf, changing bench and a hoist. The bench is a flat bench that is raised manually with a foot pedal and the hoist is a small mobile hoist. I have a small, manual wheelchair and I had a power attachment on the front when I visited. While I could get inside I really struggled for space and got stuck in an archway when I was trying to turn around to leave the toilet. If you had a larger wheelchair or powerchair it would be really difficult to manage the space in here, especially if you were needing to use the hoist and bench.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
There are three main entrances to the museum. One is behind Swansea Museum and this has buttons to make the doors open automatically. You can also enter via the café area. The other entrance comes out by a green space and a leisure centre and has automatic doors. The signage around the museum was clear and easy to follow. All the floorings were very smooth and it was easy for me to navigate through the building. The Changing Places toilet is on the ground floor.
Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas
Parking & Transport
Average
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
There is no dedicated parking for the museum. There are a number of public pay & display car parks nearby. The closest bus stop is outside Swansea Museum on Burrows Place, around 150 metres away.
Accessible facilities: Public or on street parking
Accessible Toilets
There were signs on the door with a Changing Places symbol, symbols showing it was a toilet for all genders, and a first aid sign as it seemed this room operated as a first aid room too. The Changing Places toilet required a RADAR key to get inside and it also had a vertical grab rail to make it easier to open the door. The door opened outwards. Inside, there was a horizontal grab rail to assist with closing the door and the door handle lifted up to lock it. The door handle was large enough that it could be operated with a fist or elbow. A coat hook was placed on the door too. The toilet had a very strange layout and it was quite cramped. The room is almost split in half with the door opening on the space with the bench, hoist and some first aid cupboards and then an archway leading to the toilet and sink. The toilet had space for a left-side transfer but a large bin and two stepping stools had been left in this space. It had a height-adjustable grab rail and a vertical grab rail on either side. There was no lid but there was a cushioned back-rest. The cistern was mounted above the back-rest, making it quite high and the flush was on the opposite side of the cistern to the transfer area, so it was quite a stretch to reach it. To the left of the archway was a small sink with a single tap in the centre. The tap was manually operated and had a small handle which seemed like it could be operated with a fist or elbow. The tap twisted to control both the temperature and flow of the water. A vertical grab rail was mounted on either side of the sink and a manual soap dispenser was in between them. To the right of the sink, and opposite the toilet, was also a small shelf. An automatic hand dryer was opposite the sink. It was one that required you to insert your hands vertically downwards so some may find this difficult to use. The other space had a height-adjustable bench which was adjusted manually with a foot pedal and a small mobile hoist. The emergency red cord hung down past the toilet and had then been strung around the edge of the room. This meant that the cord couldn’t be looped or tied up and there was an access point around the room. The layout of this Changing Places toilet was quite strange and I found it really difficult to move around in it. I have a small manual wheelchair and I had a power attachment on the front but I did get stuck trying to turn around and be able to get out of the door again. If you had a large powerchair I would worry about the space available inside. Facilities: Changing Places toilet
Staff
Excellent
The staff at the information desk seemed very helpful.
