Astor Bannerman

Many Care Homes are now focusing on offering their residents an indulgent experience – and why not. Living in a Care Home should be able to mean wonderful food, lovely surroundings, company and care on hand and little pampers such as hairdressing, cinema rooms and spa-like bathrooms. 

Many Care Homes are now focusing on offering their residents an indulgent experience – and why not. Living in a Care Home should be able to mean wonderful food, lovely surroundings, company and care on hand and little pampers such as hairdressing, cinema rooms and spa-like bathrooms. 

Many Care Homes are now focusing on offering their residents an indulgent experience – and why not. Living in a Care Home should be able to mean wonderful food, lovely surroundings, company and care on hand and little pampers such as hairdressing, cinema rooms and spa-like bathrooms ....

Many Care Homes are now focusing on offering their residents an indulgent experience – and why not. Living in a Care Home should be able to mean wonderful food, lovely surroundings, company and care on hand and little pampers such as hairdressing, cinema rooms and spa-like bathrooms. 

Boston Endeavour Academy is a newly built special school for children age 2-19 with a range of learning difficulties and disabilities, located in the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire. It opened to 100 pupils in September 2021 building to 140 over the coming few years. It features many state of the art facilities including therapy rooms classrooms and a hydrotherapy pool. Key Considerations:Installing ceiling hoists within multi-height ceilings Large spans are required throughoutRequires bespoke solution Working in collaboration with Kier and Wates Construction on this state of the art academy, our Astor OT200 hoisting system and Sensory Integration Swings have provided safe, supportive and comfortable accessibility to the children, allowing them to thrive in their educational setting. Main Equipment: Astor OT200 ceiling hoistH systemBespoke track systemRoom to room gatesTurntablesSensory Integration Swings“ The ceiling hoists are infinitely more convenient for supporting pupils from chairs to the floor to complete their work and postural changes. No longer having to rely on mobile hoists increases the space available that can be deployed for learning activities. The tracking in the pool area allows for speedy transitions to changing rooms reducing waiting times and the number of staff required to support transitions. The Sensory Integration swings have become a much-valued resource for supporting the regulation of many pupils. The advice given by Astor Bannerman representatives to be reliable and leading to excellent outcomes in terms of the resources for our pupils..” Richard Gamman, Headteacher Boston Endeavour Academy 

Christchurch, Newport is a church in South Wales which plays a big part in the local community. They offer meeting and conference space, host local groups, run clubs and work to help people in need. They were keen to install a Changing Places Toilet in the building to ensure that their facilities are as inclusive as possible, and they are able to welcome families and groups with disabled members, and cater for people travelling down the nearby M4. The installation was made possible by funding from the National Lottery.

A Gloucestershire based independent care provider has recently completed a 46 bed extension on their care home for clients with dementia and nursing care requirements. Having worked with the contractor on a similar project, Astor Bannerman were recommended to the company to supply ceiling track hoists in an effort to future proof the needs of the home. With floor space at a premium, the company wanted to move away from the traditional style mobile hoists, which need to be stored away when not in use. Also, as using a ceiling hoist system normally only requires one carer to operate, this enables the company to adapt to the possible implications of Brexit on staffing levels.During the installation, we successfully added an XY (H-frame) hoist system into 3 assisted bathrooms and added 3m straight track OT200 hoists in 6 bedrooms allowing simple transfer in an out of bed.Fixings were also installed during the main build in the remaining 40 bedrooms, enabling the care provider to retrofit track and hoists as and when they require them at any point in the future.

Hoists are one of the key components of a Changing Places Toilet and there are a few essential things to consider before installing them. See below for our top 4 things to think about at the planning, design and installation stages.Installing hoists into Changing Places Toilets requires knowledge of the equipment, the relevant regulations and requirements specific to these fully accessible toilets, plus the experience to install the specialist equipment safely.Astor Bannerman have a Changing Places team who have extensive experience with the planning and installation of hoists and other specialist equipment.

Installed by Astor Bannerman, the project was made possible due to funds received from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport as part of the Culture Recovery Fund.The installation of a Changing Places facility opens up the possibility of a day out to people who would previously have been excluded from enjoying a visit to the national collection of arms and armour. The new facility at the Royal Armouries adds to the national network of 1,625 toilets.

RAF Museum Cosford, one of the premier tourist destinations in Shropshire, officially opened its brand-new Astor Bannerman Changing Places Toilet last week. Staff at the museum were joined by carers from City of Wolverhampton Council, Adult Provider Services and Aveso CEO Nick Kent for the ribbon cutting ceremony.Located in the visitor centre, the toilet includes a ceiling track hoist for full room coverage and an adult size height adjustable changing table, amongst other essential equipment and the extra space needed to use the toilet safely and comfortably.The equipment in the Changing Places toilet includes: Astor Invincible Changing TableAstor OT200 Ceiling HoistAstor ABW6 Height Adjustable Wash BasinCentrally Placed ToiletPortable Privacy ScreenAccessories including grab railsTalking about the new accessible facility, Paula Kovacs, RAF Museum Community Engagement Manager said:‘As a national museum, we recognise how important it is that each one of our visitors is able to enjoy their day with us in comfort and dignity. This is particularly important for visitors with profound and multiple learning disabilities, and others who need extra support. I am certain that this new facility will have a tremendous positive impact on the visitor experience for those of our visitors with such requirements, as well as their families, friends and carers, enabling them to enjoy as fully as possible their day with us, confident that their requirements are being catered for.’The Changing Places toilet was given a big thumbs up from members of the City of Wolverhampton Council, Adult Provider Services (Day Opportunities), who recently visited the RAF Museum on their first day trip to an attraction in more than a year.One carer said:‘It’s my first visit to the RAF Museum and the Changing Places facility is wonderful. The Museum is amazing, and we will now be able to plan more days out with our members. Without the Changing Places facility, we wouldn’t have been able to bring some of our members.’‘It’s vital when we go out that we have facilities for people to use. Changing Places toilets is something we can’t always find but having one so close will make days out so much better.’Nick Kent, CEO of Aveso, a long-term sponsor of The Changing Places Campaign making venues more accessible for all, said:‘Changing Places are a vital facility for the disabled community and their carers. There are over 1,600 Changing Places rooms in the UK, but this facility is one of the most beautifully designed with the mural of the sky. It’s a great facility for users and carers and ensures the Museum is an attractive day out for everyone.’The Museum’s new Changing Places facility is provided in addition to the standard accessible toilets that can be found in each of the Museum’s buildings. For further details of the various facilities that the Museum offers for visitors requiring additional assistance please visit rafmuseum.org/Cosford.

Many Care Homes are now focusing on offering their residents an indulgent experience – and why not. Living in a Care Home should be able to mean wonderful food, lovely surroundings, company and care on hand and little pampers such as hairdressing, cinema rooms and spa-like bathrooms. 

In July 2021 the South Downs National Park Authority became owners of Seven Sisters Country Park. One of their main focuses was creating better experiences for visitors. As part of that process the visitor centre was recently redeveloped, ensuring it was more accessible, with same level access and new toilets. To improve accessibility yet further, the team decided to install a Changing Places Toilet.

Changing Places takes Centre Court at All England Tennis Club, one of the oldest and widely referred to as the worlds most prestigious tennis tournament hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) in Wimbledon, London.  Working with Aveso (the expert in Changing Places) the AELTC have installed 2 Changing Places rooms at Wimbledon, both branded for the club.

The RHS’s flagship garden installed its first Changing Places toilet a few years ago, and is eagerly anticipating the opening of its second in June.Nora has Polymicrogyria, and as a result she cannot walk or use standard toilet facilities. Her family have always been determined that her disabilities should not stop her from enjoying the things that her twin sister Layla enjoys, such as going on holiday, swimming, or going to the cinema. For them, having a Changing Places toilet is their No. 1 requirement when researching places to go. That is why they decided to become members of RHS Garden Wisley, which boasts a fully accessible Changing Places toilet next to the Welcome building.RHS Garden Wisley is one of the UK’s best-loved gardens, attracting over a million visitors each year. The garden has expanded hugely over the years to its current size of 97ha (240 acres). With their focus on inspirational gardening – rather than a museum of plants and conservation, the dedicated staff are constantly assessing and updating plants and planting schemes to ensure there’s always something new to excite and inspire. The inclusion of a Changing Places toilet is a testament to this value to share the gardens with all of their visitors.