Disabled hotel guests are being forced to spend the night sleeping in their wheelchairs and unable to go to the toilet, because of a chronic lack of facilities according to the i
The news website reported campaigners saying there just 16 hotels in the whole of the UK that have any rooms that are fully accessible to customers in wheelchairs, and six of them are in London.
It adds that the overwhelming majority of hotels lack even a single room with a ceiling hoist which it says around 250,000 people are estimated to need to help them to get into bed, go to the toilet or have a bath.
The i says “tourist hotspots” such as Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham have just one hotel each known to have a hoist. Most places have none at all.
The website quotes Steve Catlin of the Ceiling Hoists users Community (CHUC), which keeps an up-to-date list of hotels that can accommodate those in need.
Steve said: “The world is a draining place for somebody in a wheelchair. The UK actually leads the way, most countries rely on mobile hoists, but it’s a dismal lead.
“Lots of people would travel here, for domestic tourism and overseas tourism, but there just aren’t the facilities.”
The i says campaigners want full disabled access requirements – including at least one ceiling hoist for every 100 hotel rooms – to be clear under Part M of the UK’s Building Regulations.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson told the i: “We are currently conducting a review of Building Regulations to consider how accessibility guidance for hotels could be improved.”
