Dear Mary
Unfortunately the blue light may not deter drug use. Two reports (one by
professor Margaret Hamilton of Turning point Alcohol and Drug centre)
suggest that when blue lights are installed drug users may initially move
away from the toilet as a space to inject, but often return and begin using
more hazardous injecting practices, i.e. they stop injecting into their
veins and inject anywhere in their body. This increases the health risk to
drug users, (the report also mentions the use of UV pens to mark injection
sites in the veins) and doesn't alleviate the problem of using public
toilets for drug use.
(please let me know if you would like copies of these reports and I will
forward them on)
Also as well as the lights restricting access for people with visual
impairments, our research has revealed that people with urostomies and
colostomies are also excluded from these toilets. People with urostomies
and colostomies require good lighting in order to clean the area around
their stoma, hygiene is incredibly important to prevent a number of health
complications occurring and the blue light makes cleaning this area almost
impossible.
Jo-Anne Bichard
Research Fellow: Inclusive Design of Public Toilets in City Centres
At 13:52 25/03/2004, you wrote:
>Dear All,
>What is your opinion on blue light toilets?
> In Bournemouth the Council has installed blue lights in their toilets. The
>effect of this is that it had the impact of reducing the number of discarded
>used needles in public toilets. Apparently for users their veins are almost
>impossible to see under blue light thereby making injection very difficult
>if not impossible. Results in Bournemouth were 75% reduction in discarded
>needles
>
>What do you think of the idea?
>Our officers would like to know what disabled people think of the idea.
>Please send your comments to me or [log in to unmask]
>
>
>Regards
>Mary Gwynne
>Policy Development Officer(Access)
>* : <<...OLE_Obj...>> 01792 636733 (voice and text)
>* : [log in to unmask]
>* : Performance and Strategic Planning,
>Chief Executive's Department.
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>Run by SURFACE for more information on research, consultancy and the
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Jo-Anne Bichard
Research Fellow: Vivacity 2020 Inclusive Design of Public Toilets in City
Centres
Bartlett School of Graduate Studies
UCL (Torrington Place Site),
London WC1E 6BT
Tel: 020 7679 8224
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Run by SURFACE for more information on research, consultancy and the distance taught MSc. in Accessibility and Inclusive Design programme visit:
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