A SHORTAGE of suitable toilet facilities is "failing disabled people", new figures have revealed.
There are just 1.4 fully-accessible toilets per 100,000 people in Northern Ireland.
Disabled toilets with a changing bench, hoist, privacy screen and space for two carers are the only facilities that qualify as fully-accessible `changing places', according to government policy.
The north is the second worst region in the UK, according to Muscular Dystrophy UK figures released for Changing Places Awareness Day.
Only London was worse at 0.9 per 100,000.
Disability Action states that one in five people in Northern Ireland have a disability.
More than a quarter of a million people in the UK are in need of changing places facilities, but there are just 1,324 toilets that meet the criteria - an average of two per 100,000 population.
Without enough toilets, people with severe disabilities face the option of not leaving their homes, limiting fluid intake on days out, or having to be changed on dirty toilet floors.
Some have even had a catheter surgically fitted because they "either wouldn't go out, or I'd dehydrate myself" because it was so difficult to use a toilet.
Residents in Scotland have the best access, with 3.6 toilets per 100,000 people.
The research shows just more than a third of the accessible facilities are in public buildings, such as community centres, churches and leisure centres.
A further 15 per cent are at attractions, such as theatres, libraries, concert halls and museums, with 14 per cent in shops, shopping centres and supermarkets.
However, just 18 pubs, restaurants and cafes in the UK have a changing places toilet, and less than one per cent of railway stations have fully-accessible facilities.
In addition, some areas are more than 20 miles away from an accessible toilet, with Edinburgh's half a million residents sharing just one between them.
Clare Lucas, the charity's head of policy, said: "Everyone deserves to use the toilet safely and with dignity, more than a quarter of a million disabled people who need assistance to use the toilet are being excluded from society because there aren't enough changing places.
"Without enough of these vital facilities, people are being forced to cut trips short, stay at home, or even consider options as extreme as surgery."
Disability Rights UK also found that the majority of standard disabled toilets are not fitted with adequate support equipment, although it recognises there have been "positive developments" over the last 12 months.
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Changing places toilets per 100,000 population
Scotland (3.6)
Channel Islands (3)
West Midlands (3)
Yorkshire and the Humber (3)
East Midlands (2.6)
North East (2.2)
Wales (2.2)
South West (2.1)
East of England (1.9)
North West (1.8)
South East (1.7)
Northern Ireland (1.4)
London (0.9)
