East Riding Council: Toilets Will Be Reviewed To Support People With Invisible Disabilities

Public toilet facilities across the East Riding will be reviewed to make them more accessible for people living with stoma or colostomy bags.

Public toilet facilities will undergo a review to ensure they meet the daily needs of people living with stoma or colostomy bags.

Simple additions such as shelves, hooks, and mirrors will be explored to help those with invisible disabilities manage their medical conditions with dignity.

The unanimous agreement to review the facilities follows harrowing accounts from a local resident, Jenna, who revealed the severe difficulties she faces when attempting to use accessible public toilets. The motion to improve the infrastructure was brought forward by Councillor Denis Healy and seconded by Councillor Eliza Whittaker.

The lack of suitable public facilities often leaves people feeling isolated and anxious about leaving their homes.

Councillor Healy said:

"I'm speaking because Jenna came to me and asked me to listen. And after listening to her, I felt that this council should listen too. Many people will not know much about living with a stoma, I didn't. Jenna has lived with one since November 2025, following life-changing surgery. Jenna told me that while the surgery changed her life, it is also a surgery that she is forever grateful for. But she also told me that when you become disabled, you quickly realize that much of the world was not built with you in mind. And that is really what this motion is about."

The proposed changes focus on practical, low-cost hygiene improvements rather than major redevelopment.

Councillor Healy added:

"when she needs to empty or change her stoma bag while she is out. She doesn't need anything particularly complicated. She needs a clean toilet. She needs a mirror. She needs a hook on the door, and she needs something as simple as a shelf, not a major rebuilding program, not a new department, not a costly initiative, just somewhere clean to place the medical supplies she needs to manage her condition with dignity. Yet she told me that she's opened the door to accessible public toilets and immediately closed the door again because the facilities were simply not suitable."

The motion received strong backing from Councillor Eliza Whittaker, who shared her own personal experience of living with a temporary stoma following major surgery.

Councillor Whittaker said:

"Sometimes, the most important motions that come before this council aren't the ones with huge budgets or major infrastructure projects. Sometimes, they're about much simpler. They're about dignity. They're about independence, and they're about recognising that not every disability or medical condition is visible. It doesn't ask us to commit huge funding, it asks us to simply review the facilities, understand where improvements can be made, and ensure that we improve them and redesign them where possible. I underwent a major surgery for deep infiltrating bowel endometriosis. They had expected that I may end up with a stoma for 4 months. And I was very lucky it was 4 weeks, not 4 months. And although mine was temporary, I experienced enough to understand just how planning and anxiety can come to something that most people have never have to think about."

The fear of judgment and the lack of cleanliness in accessible toilets remain significant barriers for people with invisible conditions.

Councillor Whittaker continued:

"Simple things that the rest of us take for granted, suddenly become made a considerations. Can I my managed to change my stoma off a mouth? Will I be judged? And I was just talking to Jenna about this, it is the worst feeling in the world when you go to a disabled toilet and you hear people say, "Well, she doesn't look disabled." It's horrible. I didn't experience it in the way that Jenna does, because I actually only went out once, and I went out once, and I didn't want to go again, because the toilet was disgusting. I now because for working in that, I always can carry clean wipes with me so I can wipe down surfaces when I go there. But, actually having soap and the ability to wipe down in a toilet when you get there is important as well. Hopefully, I'll never have to think about that again, but I do empathise for Jenna who's having to do it."

East Riding Council will now assess what can be done to improve these essential public facilities across the region.