Stoma-changing facilities added to railway toilets

Facilities to help people with stomas have been introduced at some railway stations.

TransPennine Express (TPE) announced this week that all of its accessible station toilets would have disposal facilities to be "stoma friendly".

TPE accessibility lead Chris Jeffery said the organisation was working to make services and stations inclusive for everyone.

He said: "We hope the improvements will make travelling with TPE easier for customers with a stoma."

The changes apply to toilets at Cleethorpes, Dewsbury, Grimsby, Huddersfield, Hull, Malton, Manchester Airport, Northallerton, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Selby, Stalybridge, Thirsk and Thornaby.

Stomas are an opening in a person's abdomen to divert one end of the colon, with a pouch placed over it to collect faeces - a stoma bag - after they have a colostomy operation.

According to charity Colostomy UK, more than 200,000 people in the UK have a stoma.

People can be fitted with a stoma after treatment for conditions such as bowel cancer, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and bowel incontinence.

The upgrades are part of a move to provide better facilities for customers, and include adding shelves, hooks and mirrors to the toilet cubicles.

Last year, a fully accessible Changing Places toilet was installed at Stalybridge Station.

The facility is a larger accessible toilet for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets, with equipment such as an adult-sized changing bench, a hoist, privacy screen and space for carers.

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