A DORSET hospital has been awarded £100,000 to install specially-designed toilet facilities for disabled people and their carers.

Dorset County Hospital (DCH), in Dorchester, has been awarded £100,000 to install a Changing Places facility.

Changing Places toilets are designed for people with disabilities and complex needs who require extra facilities not offered in standard accessible toilets.

Funded by NHS England, it will include a raised height toilet, height adjustable sink, an adult-sized changing bench, hoist, shower, colostomy bag shelf and space for carers.

It has been constructed offsite and will be installed close to the drop-off/pick-up bays and disabled car parking spaces near the North Wing entrances and Portesham Unit building.

Jo Howarth, director of nursing at DCH, said: “We are very pleased to have received funding from NHS England to install a Changing Places facility at Dorset County Hospital.

“We want to make our site more accessible and inclusive and hope the addition of a Changing Places toilet will make a difference to our disabled patients, visitors and their carers when they come to the hospital.”

The Changing Places facility will be installed on April 23. During the afternoon delivery, the pick-up/drop-off bay areas outside North Wing Entrance 2 and the Portesham Unit will be closed off, with visitors directed to alternative parking spaces.

The new facility will open next month.