A Sainsbury’s manager denied access to a man who suffers from an illness that requires him to urgently go to the bathroom.
Christopher Porter-Blake, from Lancashire, who was diagnosed with a partially paralyzed bowel in 2023 due to a spinal cord injury he had suffered years earlier, revealed he was denied access to the toilet at Cromwell Road, the Kensington Sainsbury’s branch on Saturday.
When she explained she had a medical condition and showed her Just Can’t Wait Card toilet access card, given to her by an NHS bowel nurse, she claims the manager told her the toilets were “for staff only”.
However, after Christopher pointed out that there is a legal requirement to make a reasonable adjustment for disabled people, his response was allegedly “I don’t care.”
Christopher, who is called @LawAspi on X, formerly known as Twitter, took to the platform to share his frustration.
The Sainsbury’s manager denied access to Christopher Porter-Blake, from Lancashire, who suffers from an illness that requires him to urgently go to the bathroom.
Sharing a snap of her blue Just Can’t Wait Card, the post, which racked up more than 16,000 likes, read: ‘Hi @sainsburys, Marika, the manager of your store in Kensington, I’ve just been denied access to the toilet . Despite presenting this. I wait your answer.’
According Bladder and intestine In the UK, the ‘Just Can’t Wait Card’ is recognized and supported by many retail and service organisations.
Its purpose is to provide people with certain medical conditions access to bathrooms that are not normally available to the public.
The description of the card on the Bladder & Bowel UK site says: ‘For when you’re out and about. Handy card the size of a credit card. It can be displayed in cafes, restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses.
‘Although access is not guaranteed, the cards are widely accepted and recognised. ‘
The Equality Act says there is a duty to make reasonable adjustments if someone has a substantial disadvantage due to their disability. If someone does not cooperate with their duty to make reasonable adjustments, the Equality Act says that is unlawful discrimination.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Christopher, who also has autism AUDHD and ADHD, said: “On the morning of 09/03/24 I was visiting the natural history museum with my wife for her birthday weekend, and it happened to be nearby from Sainsbury’s.when the need arose.
‘I quickly entered the store and looked for a customer toilet and to my horror there wasn’t even a disabled toilet! Apparently these have been closed for a while, but being from Lancashire I couldn’t have known or been expected to know.
When she explained she had a medical condition and showed her Just Can’t Wait Card toilet access card, which was given to her by an NHS bowel nurse, she claims the manager told her the toilets were “for staff only.” “.
“I expressed my concern to a lovely lady who was manning the self-checkouts and she said, ‘Go to customer service and someone will help you.’
‘When I approached, I saw a manager and expressed to him that I urgently needed to go to the bathroom at that moment and that I was actually a disabled person.
‘The response was ‘no, it’s just the staff’, I informed him that there is a legal requirement to make a reasonable adjustment and his response was ‘I don’t care.’
‘I said I would take the matter further and the response was ‘okay’. And I was informed that the nearest bathroom was in a hotel about 300 meters away. As a disabled person walking at the same pace as a small child, that’s quite a distance!’
Christopher added that other stores have previously accommodated his bathroom request.
He said: “Waitrose, Boots and Spar stores have allowed me access to staff-only toilets when the need has arisen and have simply walked me there and back without any problems.”
Christopher wants businesses to “bring back disabled toilets”, saying they should be “a protected space for disabled people”.
He added: ‘Removing these spaces ultimately creates a barrier to our existence and means we are less likely to feel safe leaving our homes.
‘The government is pushing for disabled people to get jobs while the world around us erodes our rights to human dignity.
“As a disabled person, I feel like I’m an inconvenience to the world and that I’m somehow less valued as a member of society.”
Many people ran to their stall to support Christopher, with some saying the supermarket should be “ashamed”.
Many people ran to their stall to support Christopher, with some saying the supermarket should be “ashamed”.
One person wrote: ‘I’m afraid many companies/people are STILL using Covid as an excuse to…work from home/delays in responses/no public toilets/locker rooms etc.’ Common sense must be used. But I still wonder. If it’s called common sense, why isn’t it so common?
Another said: ‘Sainsbury’s should be embarrassed by this. That said, it is also necessary to bring back public toilets and stop their closure.’
Someone else wrote: “I have an illness where I need to go to the bathroom, I need it right there and then I don’t have time to argue with the staff, that’s why I don’t go out anymore.”
A fourth said: ‘I’m so sorry this happened to you, a medical condition can mean many things but even for those who don’t have a medical card, such as pregnant women, if people ask to use the toilet, people and others must obey.
‘If we cannot ensure that those in absolute need receive correct legal treatment, how can anyone be treated legally? I am very concerned about what happened to you and very concerned about everyone’s rights.’
Christopher revealed that he has access to a radar key when public toilets are available, however there were none nearby that day.
Radar Key grants access to over 10,000 disabled enclosed toilets across the UK. Anyone with a permanent disability can purchase the key for £5.
After contacting Sainsbury’s to inform them of the situation, the supermarket chain revealed it was “concerned” but said the public toilets had been closed “many months ago”.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told Christopher: “Thank you for contacting Sainsbury’s executive office. I have been asked to investigate this matter and respond to you personally.
Sainsbury’s emailed Christopher saying: ‘Thank you for contacting Sainsbury’s Executive Office. I have been asked to investigate this matter and respond to you personally.
‘I was very concerned to hear of the difficulties you experienced at the Cromwell Road shop. On behalf of Sainsbury’s, I would like to take this opportunity to express how sorry I am for the distress this incident has caused.
‘I have spoken to the store manager, who informed me that the public toilets were closed many months ago.
‘Colleagues’ toilets are up three flights of stairs and our policy is that customers cannot use them for health and safety reasons. “Once again, I am sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and distress this has caused.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told Mail Online: ‘We strive to be a truly inclusive retailer where people love to work and shop. We are in contact with Mr Porter-Blake to tell him about his experience and apologize for any inconvenience caused.’
‘At its core, our policy is that if there are no customer toilets available, we can escort customers out of the workshop to use our colleagues’ toilets.
“In this case, knowing that it was urgent and that the bathrooms were not easily accessible from the store, the store manager informed the customer that there were bathrooms in a neighboring hotel.”