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Infections
warning as loos close
'Irresponsible' decision attacked
AN expert on public health has warned that closing
street toilets could cause infections to rise in Camden.
Dr Ros Stanwell- Smith, an advisor to the Royal Institute of
Public Health, fears that the closure of public toilets is a
“subtle encouragement” to urinate in the street.
She described the closure of toilets in West End Green, West
Hampstead, in April last year as “very irresponsible”.
Dr Stanwell-Smith, who lives in Agamemnon Road, West Hampstead,
says influenza and diarrhoea are caused by a lack of hand-washing
facilities. She added: “If you get to a position where
it’s almost socially acceptable for street urination and,
occasionally, for faeces to occur, inevitably there’s going
to be a rise in the risk of infection.”
Dr Stanwell-Smith, who spent 11 years at the Public Health Laboratory
Service (now the Health Protection Agency) in Colindale, north-west
London, is particularly concerned about problems faced by homeless
people – once known to congregate around the loos in West
End Green – who are unable to afford the 20p charge at
a paying toilet introduced after the public loos closed.
She pointed out that bus drivers using the garage adjacent to
the West End Green loos are unwilling to pay to use the new
toilet, and instead often use loos in shops and cafés.
Dr Stanwell-Smith said toilets were a public service, adding:
“It’s like saying we can’t afford street lights
or drains. It’s part of the services in a civilised city.”
The Transport and General Workers Union, which represents bus
drivers, has also criticised the loo closure.
A spokesman called the decision “absurd”, and asked
for “an injection of common sense”.
A Town Hall press official said: “We cannot justify spending
public money on toilets that are used relatively infrequently,
and which we are not legally required to provide”. |
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