Stoma Helpline We’re here 24 hours a day: 0800 328 4257
Stoma Helpline We’re here 24 hours a day: 0800 328 4257
Stoma Aware Day 2024 – Do You See Me?
Saturday 5th October is Stoma Aware Day, our annual awareness day. This year our theme is ‘Do You See Me’. because we want to highlight how the choices that society makes as individuals and in general to ‘not see’ people with stomas, negatively impacts the well-being of ostomates, creating barriers to living a fulfilling life.
Here are just some of the ways the actions we take as individuals and as a society are impacting people with stomas.
Public Toilet provision
Over fifty percent of people living with stomas suffer from leakage which means access to public toilets is vital to enable them to live fulfilling lives and ensures they do not face social exclusion and isolation.
Nearly sixty percent per cent of the UK’s public toilets have closed in just over a decade, according to the British Toilet Association (BTA).
Our 2023 Stoma Aware survey highlighted that 62% of respondents believe a lack of suitable toilet facilities impacts on their daily life, limiting their ability to do many of the things we take for granted such as going to the shops, the theatre, or a coffee with friends. This figure is significantly higher than the 20% of the general public that the Royal Society for Public Health reported in 2019, are put off venturing from their homes as often as they would like due to a concern over lack of toilets.
Discrimination and prejudice
However, people living with stomas face further challenges when using a public toilet, with 25% worried about using an accessible toilet having previously been verbally or physically abused for doing so, as their disability/ condition is hidden. This behaviour from others can lead to mental health issues and isolation for the individual
Freedom to choose.
We believe people living with stomas should have access to the right stoma management products, at the right time, from the supplier of their choice, and be free from commercial influence.
Having the right bag is hugely important part of making sure people living with stomas have the quality of life they deserve, yet our 2024 beneficiary survey highlighted that more than 3 out of 10 people were NOT actively involved in choosing which stoma management products they use and nearly 6 out of 10 were not offered a choice of dispenser / delivery company
What can you do to help?
1) Print off one of our ‘Do You See me’ selfie signs below, and tell your story on social media about how you’ve felt that society doesn’t see you as someone who is living with a stoma and tag us in or use the hash tags #StomaAware and #DoYouSeeMe
2) Share our social media assets to reach your friends, family, and followers, highlighting the challenges people with stomas face to be seen
3) Contact your local council and MP
• Ask your MP to support Colostomy UK’s call for legislation to ensure local authorities provide a level of public toilet provision that ensures people living with stomas and other conditions do not face social exclusion and isolation.
• Ask your local authority to conduct an urgent audit in to public toilet provision in their area and whether these meet the current and future needs of their residents, and publish their findings
• Stoma Friendly facilities in all new builds with accessible toilet provision.
If you would like to contact your local MP to tell them about our asks, you can find out who they are and email them by visiting the website https://www.writetothem.com/ and entering your postcode.
You can find out who your local council is and how to contact them via this link
https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
