Beekse Bergen opens first-ever Changing Places Toilet in the Netherlands

At Beekse Bergen, the first Changing Places Toilet was opened with the push of a button: a special horizontal toilet facility that includes a hoist and an adult stretcher. This is a first in the Netherlands: nowhere else in the country is there such a care facility that meets international standards.

This facility was created in cooperation with the Disabled Children's Foundation and Joint Projects. If all goes well, Beekse Bergen will not be the only location with such a facility for long: thanks in part to a donation of nearly 2 million euros from the Friends Lottery, the goal is to open Changing Places Toilets at thirty top cultural locations in the Netherlands over the next three years.

For Beekse Bergen, the Changing Places Toilet is another step in its ambition to offer as many people as possible a beautiful day out. Rens Willemsen, general manager of Safaripark: "At Beekse Bergen, we think it's important that everyone can enjoy the beautiful surroundings, the animals and the other facilities we offer here. When we heard that with a Changing Places Toilet, people can also visit for whom a day at the zoo was previously unattainable, we immediately started working on this."

During the festive opening - accompanied by actress Jetty Mathurin and presenter Tako Rietveld - several experts by experience told how important Changing Places toilets are for these families. "As a child it was already a problem that I couldn't go to a toilet anywhere, but it still is now," says Marieke van Gastel. "As a child or adult with a disability, you also just want to be able to have a day out without having to think about whether you can go to the toilet somewhere. It is therefore fantastic that this facility is now open."

Bernice Schaddelee, mother of Jens, underlines this, "We now often change him on a table or coat. That's already not nice, but when he's alter bigger, that really won't be possible anymore. So really nice that this is possible; it's so important as a family to also be able to get away and make memories together."

In Britain there are already more than 2,200 Changing Places, in the Netherlands the first one has now opened in Beekse Bergen.