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Campaign For "No Wait Card" For Those With Bladder And Bowel Conditions Raises Awareness

Photo: Pexels

The "No Wait Card" seeks to allow those with bowel and bladder conditions or spinal injuries to use private bathrooms in public spaces.

A campaign to a recognise a bathroom access card is having a national awareness day today.

The "No Wait Card" seeks to allow those with bowel and bladder conditions or spinal injuries to use private bathrooms in public spaces.

In November, Kfm news reported that Kildare South Labour TD Mark Wall had introduced a Bill to give legal status to “No Wait Cards” for people with chronic or invisible illnesses who urgently need access to a toilet.

Speaking on Kildare Today, Maria Crowe, a Kildangan resident who suffers from a painful bladder syndrome said that she has constantly "map-out" where the nearest toilet facilities are whenever she leaves the house:

"You either have to decide: 'will I go or not go?', and then we have the stress of trying to map-out toilets to see if there's a toilet on the route a couple of days before hand, maybe see if there's toilets every half-an-hour."

This card is so important to me, it's like a freedom card, it's independence, it means we can go somewhere."

She added that she is "slightly positive" that the cards will be introduced:

"We're slightly positive, at the moment they're researching about the card in terms of how they'd support it and expand it, those talks are going on behind the scenes.

Today's awareness day is just about today and tomorrow when we all need to leave our houses."

Also speaking on the show was Victoria Spillane, Interim Chief Operations Officer at Crohn's and Colitis Ireland:

"We can experience sudden and unpredictable symptoms and it's the anxiety of knowing whether a toilet will be available, it can impact every aspect of our lives."

"We want everyone to live their best life, but unfortunately it can be rather tough, especially because these illnesses are invisible as well, we look fine on the outside, but on the inside, we're dealing with pain and fatigue, and that's where the "No Wait Card" is invaluable."

It's about encouraging businesses, public venues and communities to better understand what a "No Wait Card" represents."

The full interview can be heard below:

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