Tesco announces new toilet signage for 'invisible' conditions

A major anxiety for people living with a chronic health condition, like Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, is being refused toilet access or being confronted about why they are using a disabled facility. Whilst someone may appear to look ‘okay’ on the outside, they may be in a daily battle with a serious medical condition and urgently need to use the ‘disabled’ or ‘accessible’ facilities.

The new signage will be rolled out to over 700 stores across the country, using the ‘not every disability is visible’ tagline. Crohn’s & Colitis UK, called for supporters to back the campaign by emailing the bosses of the UK’s largest supermarkets; asking for their help to end the stigma and distress and help raise awareness that not every disability is visible.

The announcement follows Asda and Morrisons, who have already adopted new signage which has helped to highlight the true impact of these debilitating conditions. By supermarkets adopting new accessible toilet signs, it is a simple but effective act they could help to ensure that customers with a medical condition can use the toilet facilities without fear of criticism or embarrassment.

19,000 emails have been sent to the top supermarkets in the UK since the launch of the campaign five months ago. Tesco’s is the second major supermarket to agree to change its signage during that time.

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