We supply an Euan’s Guide Red Cord Card with every Disabled Toilet and Emergency Assistance Alarm kit. It attaches directly to the pull cord and reminds staff, cleaners and building users that it should hang freely to the floor. It’s a practical detail, but it points to a broader question about accessible facilities that Euan’s Guide has spent some time putting a name to.
Euan’s Guide is a UK disabled access review and information platform, and its 2025 Access Survey describes the extra research burden that falls on disabled people when access information isn’t clear or available. They call it the Accessibility Time Tax: the additional time spent checking whether a venue can meet their needs before deciding whether to visit.
More than 4,400 people contributed to the survey. Seventy per cent said they spend extra time on tasks that non-disabled people don’t. Eighty-five per cent said clear and accurate access information would be the most effective way to reduce it.
Good facilities need good information published about them
A venue may have invested in accessible facilities. An accessible toilet may have the right layout, suitable grab rails and a working emergency assistance alarm. A larger building may include refuges and an Emergency Voice Communication System (EVCS). Those things matter once somebody is in the building.
But disabled visitors plan ahead. Before they commit to travelling, they need to know those facilities are there. A venue that doesn’t publish specific access information leaves that question unanswered, and many people will choose somewhere else rather than risk finding out on arrival.
Useful access information is specific. For an accessible toilet, that might mean confirming that an emergency assistance alarm is fitted, showing the layout of the room and explaining where the facility is within the building. The people specifying, installing and handing over these systems are often well placed to make sure that information isn’t lost once the project is complete.
Accessible toilet alarms need to remain accessible
Our three-part DTAKIT Emergency Assistance Alarm includes a ceiling-mounted red pull cord, a reset point and an over-door light and sounder. It can operate as a stand-alone unit or connect with a larger EVCS.
The cord is a particularly simple element, but its position matters. Cords can be tied around grab rails, shortened or moved during cleaning. Once that happens, a correctly installed alarm can become inaccessible to the person who needs it.
That’s why every DTAKIT kit includes an Euan’s Guide Red Cord Card. It attaches directly to the cord and reminds staff, cleaners and building users that it should hang freely to the floor. It’s a practical reminder that accessible facilities need continued care after installation.
Make the information available
Euan’s Guide gives venues a straightforward way to publish their access information. Businesses can add their accessibility details to the platform free of charge, putting specific information where disabled visitors are already looking.
For a building with accessible toilets, emergency assistance alarms or an EVCS, publishing that information is a natural part of making those facilities useful. It gives disabled visitors clear information about what they can expect before they travel, rather than leaving them to find out for themselves.
For specifiers, contractors and facilities teams, it’s worth thinking about that information at handover too. The details of what’s been installed, where it is and how it supports the building’s accessible facilities can easily disappear into project documentation. Passing that information on gives the building operator something useful to publish, and Euan’s Guide gives them a place where disabled visitors are already looking for it.
