Euan's Guide has handed out tens of thousands of cards that highlight the importance of red cords in disabled toilets
A disability awareness campaign has hit a major milestone.
The disabled access charity Euan’s Guide has now sent out its 50,000th Red Cord Card. These pocket-sized cards are placed on emergency red cords in accessible toilets to remind the public that, for safety reasons, these cords should hang freely all the way to the floor.
Emergency red cords are designed to save lives, but this is only possible when they are functioning correctly and can be reached by those in distress, whether they are standing, sitting or lying on the ground. Far too often the cord gets cut short or is tied up out of reach, rendering the emergency cord useless. Euan’s Guide, the home of disabled access reviews, has been the driving force behind the production and distribution of Red Cord Cards, a simple solution to prevent this problem from occurring and make accessible toilets safer.
The 50,000th card is now in position at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park in Stirling, a popular visitor attraction that has recently invested in its facilities to make the park more welcoming and accommodating to disabled visitors. The park’s marketing manager Liz Gunn said: “We’re committed to improving the accessibility of the Safari Park for all our visitors and this has included upgrading our accessible toilet facilities.
“Euan’s Guide has helped us to understand how important it is that the emergency cords in our accessible toilets hang all the way to the ground, and we’re happy their Red Cord Cards will help make sure of this.
“This is a very positive campaign and it’s wonderful news that 50,000 cards have been sent already.”
Euan’s Guide has been producing Red Cord Cards since 2015 with almost 20,000 cards being distributed in the past year alone. Cords can be tied up or moved by anyone, such as parents with young children, cleaners or other members of staff, which is why these small cards have been designed as a friendly way to inform everyone on how the cords should be left.
Euan MacDonald, co-founder of Euan’s Guide, said: “We’re delighted to hear how many people now carry Red Cord Cards around with them wherever they go, untying cords and adding our cards to all the accessible toilets that they visit. It is also great to see that venues are ordering their own Red Cord Cards to alert all of their toilet users to the importance of these cords. Our aim is to have a Red Cord Card in every accessible toilet across the UK, but this is only going to be possible with the help and support of more people and businesses across the country.”
Members of the public can request Red Cord Cards at no charge from the charity by going to www.euansguide.com/redcord. Public places and businesses can also request Red Cord Cards for their premises in return for a small donation to the charity.
