Gibson Hotel

GIBSON HOTEL in the Point Village, Dublin

Walkabout Audit carried out on Tuesday 18^th of October 2011

In attendance were Tom Chambers, Nina Byrne (CIL Dublin), Annette O’Keeffe and Becky (Tom’s PA).

Here are recommendations to make the hotel as accessible as possible for people with reduced mobility. As no Photos were taken could not do a proper presentation.

Reception area

1. Provide a wheelchair.

2. Provide a counter loop insulation

3. Seat for people with reduced mobility

4. Information on where refuge points are.

5. Provide a Universal accessible phone booth.

6. Provide a defibulator easy accessible for use.

7. Provide a disabled friendly sign

8. Ask people's ability/mobility in case of fire

9. The reception area of a floor should be obvious from the point of access. The reception desk should be placed conspicuously to permit easy location. The desk should be suitable for use from both sides at height of 1050mm for people standing and 750mm for people sitting down or using a wheelchair. Colour contrast should be used to indicate different area. Light sources, natural or artificial, should not be sighted behind the receptionist. This causes silhouetting, which make visual communication and lip reading impossible for people with impaired vision or hearing respectively. Ensure any glazed screens, if required, do not inhabit visual communications.

Bedroom

Beds to be at approximately 18 inches from floor level with a gap of 12 inches for wheelchair pedals or hoist.

Provide an alarm system close to bed in case of emergency as phones can be easily knocked off shelf in emergency or panic.

Provide 750mm clear under table in room

Ensure wheelchair user can open/close window in room

Ensure facilities for making cup of tea/coffee are universal accessible

Ensure storage facilities are made universally accessible

Provide a vibrator type system under mattress for people with hard hearing in case of a fire

Independent Use Bedroom

One guest bedroom/bathroom in every 15 guest bedrooms should be suitable in size, layout and facilities for independent use by a wheelchair user. The space within the bedroom should incorporate a 900mm access zone around the bed and two 1800mm diameter turning circles, one adjacent to the bedside. A clear space of 300mm height is required under the bed to allow space for wheelchair footrests and hoist legs.

Sufficient storage space should be provided for equipment, e.g. wheelchairs, shower chairs, walkers, etc.

Shower/Bathroom Provision

The shower/bathroom dimensions in independent use bedrooms should be a minimum of 2500mm x 2500mm with a level deck shower or 2700mm x 3000mm with a bath tub.

The size of the shower/bathroom in an assisted use bedroom should be 2700mm x

3500mm. There should be a tracking ceiling hoist fitted, giving access from the bedroom into the bathroom and over the toilet bowl and bath/shower. This larger size shower/bathroom will also allow a 2300mm turning circle for an attendant-operated mobile hoist if that is the guest’s preference.

A 150mm clear gap is required under the bath tub to accommodate the hoist legs.

Toilet

The cubicle door should have a horizontal pull handle, 400mm long and 35mm diameter, fixed 1000mm above the floor level. This will assist closure of the door in the confirmed space. Provide coat hooks at both 1200mm and 1700mm over floor level, so as to suit ambulant people and wheelchair users. A clear space of 750mm is required between the pan and the adjacent wall to position a wheelchair beside the WC. Ensure this dimension is not reduced by obstructions such as skirting boards, pipes or radiators. This dimension is of critical importance for transfer purposes and is frequently compromised in practice, rendering the cubicle unusable by the people it is intended to accommodate. Similarly, cisterns should never be boxed in, as this also reduces the transfer space significantly.

The front of the WC pan should be 750mm from the back wall to allow a wheelchair user to transfer from a position forward to the wheels. If the pan is not far enough forward from the wall, the transfer will have to be made over the wheel, with consequent risk of injury. It is vital that this dimension is not reduced by pipes or any other obstruction in front of or on the rear wall. The centre line of the pan should be 450-500mm from the side wall of the toilet. This permits use of the horizontal grab rail for lateral transfer and achieves the correct distance in relation to the wash basin.

Grab rails should be provided on the rear and side walls of the toilet. On the rear wall, provide a folding horizontal grab rail and a vertical grab rail, 400mm and 500mm respectively from the centreline of WC. Both should start 700mm over floor level. On the side wall, provide two 600mm long grab rails. One should be horizontal, 700mm over floor level, starting 200mm from the rear wall. The second should be vertical, starting 800mm above floor level, and 200mm from the leading edge of the WC pan. The combination of these grab rails will give support and stability to people transferring from a wheelchair to the WC and to those standing to dress themselves or use the basin. All grab rails should be 35mm diameter and extend 600mm. secure fixings are essential to support the full body weight of a wheelchair user.

The wash hand basin should be 250mm from the leading edge of the WC. The tap should be on the side away from the WC or in the middle. This will ensure that the tap and sink are usable while sitting on the WC. Basin height should be 800mm from floor to rim. Basin dimension should be 450 x 300mm approximately. Care is needed in siting larger basins, as they may intrude on the circulation space around the WC pan. Provide a plug that is easy to use. Provide a single mixer tap with lever operation for ease of use. Automatic infra-red and push-button taps may also be considered, although some confusion will be experienced until these are more commonly found. Soap dispensers should have pull levers to dispense the soap, rather than push buttons.

Hand dryers, whether hand towels or hot air dryers, should be easy to use and reach while sitting on the WC pan. Site hand dryers with the underside 1100mm over floor level and 600mm from internal corners. To minimise obstruction, use a slim line type, to project maximum 130mm from the wall.

The mirror over the sink should start 900-1000mm above floor level and finish 1600-1800mm above floor level.

A shelf is useful. It should be 750-1000mm floor level, sited clear of manoeuvring space, such as in the corner beside the door.

Provide a sealed waste container located at the side of the basin away from the WC.

Provide an alarm to summon help. Install the alarm so that it can be used in the area where transfer from wheelchair to toilet takes place.

Provide sensor bins in toilets.

An automatic door will be advisable in toilets

Provide a logo with a blue background and white text located on toilet door frame approximately 2200mm high so that toilet can be identified from a distance.

Emergency Alarms

Emergency cords should be provided in accessible bathrooms and should be easily distinguishable, with a bold triangle/bell/ball attached to a red pull-cord. It is recommended that two red bangles be sited on the cord, one set at the bottom of the cord and the other at 800–1000mm above floor level.

The emergency cord should be situated so that it can be reached from the WC bowl and from the floor. The cord should extend 100mm from finished floor level. A clearly marked reset button should be reachable from the WC bowl and from a seated position in a wheelchair. Cords must have a connection to a security desk or information point. Alarms should have a visual and auditory alert system that shows the alarm has been activated.

Considerations should be given to the location of the activated alarm (outside the guest room) to ensure that it can be seen and heard by the people who will provide the assistance.

Evacuation plan

People with mobility impairments can be greatly affected during emergency evacuations. They may find it difficult to move to another area of their floor when the evacuation happens. This might be due to their personal abilities, such as their speed of walking when using crutches, or of their age. It might be due to the situation around them. Perhaps fire doors that are normally held open will close during an emergency. Many lifts are not designed to be used in emergencies. There is often a notice saying “Do not use the lift in an emergency beside the lift. Wheelchair users or other people with mobility impairments who normally use the lift may have to use evacuation chairs (didn’t see one on floor I stayed in) or other devices to get down to ground level during an evacuation. People with some heart conditions, asthma or other breathing difficulties may have severe difficulties in moving up or down stairs during evacuations.

Lifts

The bottom half of the glass in the lift needs to be defrosted as wheelchair users can often be scared when using the lifts.

Columns should be identified to prevent visually impaired from walking into them.

Wayfinding

Wayfinding in the hotel is very poor; it needs to be addressed for people coming into the hotel and tourists as adequate signage reduces the needs for visitors to ask for directions.

It is particularly important for people with hearing and communication impairments.

Hope this will go a bit way in making your hotel as accessible as possible and if you need any further information feel free to contact me.

Your sincerely

Thomas Chambers
Access Campaigner
The Billy Ranch
Newport
Mayo

EMAIL: thomaschambers@eircom.net

www.thomaschambers.blogspot.com

086 3552047
098 41545