'just Can't Wait' Card

[ethandron]

Does anyone have one of these cards because of a medical condition they have which may require an urgent visit to the loo?
Have you found it useful? Have you been refused help? Have you used it successfully on an aeroplane, in a department store, motorway service area, or similar?
Thanks

[Mamyalynne]

My late Husband had one due to a Colostomy, think he used it a couple of times with no issues.

[Bathsheba]

Hi ethandron. Never heard of these before...just Googled....looks like great idea! Sorry, can't answer your question though :/

x x

[ethandron]

Thanks mamy.
Bath, it does sound a great idea doesn't it, I just wondered how successful it is in practice. You know what it's like in the queue for the ladies, anyone attempts to queue jump either deliberately or accidentally then they risk being hung, drawn and quartered!
I don't know if these cards are generally known about or accepted.

[Bathsheba]

well I don't know if I qualify as an ordinary member of the public, but I would say they are not generally known about, sadly.

x x

[AlwaysConfused]

I've never heard of a 'just can't wait' card. I've just googled it to see what you are on about. It's a great idea. I think that public awareness is needed. Is someone presented one to me five minutes ago, I'd think they were taking the ***, not needing one!

[greenrook]

I have one of these, also a multilingual card signed by my GP requesting that I be given medical assistance and privacy in certain situations. I don't know if it would justify my jumping the queue for the Gents' though, if there were one! I also have a 'Radar' key, which unlocks disabled toilets. I suppose able-bodied people could obtain any of these, but it might be a bit like parking in the Disabled zones?

[greenrook]

Sorry, I should have said, the cards are normally issued by companies supplying medical requirements, for colostomies and other conditions

[ethandron]

That's very interesting greenrook.
I believe there are a number of organisations which issue 'Cant Wait' cards...crohns and colitis uk, and bowel and bladder foundation being just two of them.
I hadn't realised that radar keys could be purchased by people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, so thank you for the info :)
Maybe a sign/poster in public toilets would make people more aware of such problems.

[greenrook]

Yes ethandron, IBD would certainly be one of the conditions where a Radar key was useful, and permitted.

[Eve]

I don't but I have a RADAR key. I find it really useful to be able to access the disabled toilets without having to queue, especially as I live in a busy city with often long queues for the loos, especially with the time it can take to get there in the first place, especially as I also have mobility issues.

One issue I've come up against is in a chain coffee shop where, for the only toilet there, unless you have a RADAR key, you have to get the key from the counter to unlock the toilet door.

But this seems to override the lock from the inside. Trouble is, if they see that the key is there, they assume nobody is in the loo and give the key and I've had someone burst in on me, thankfully when I was decent, due to this.

I do find that quite often disabled loos aren't monitored to be kept very clean and tidy so always useful to have some hand gel/wipes and tissues available should they be needed.

[bednobs]

anyone can get a radar key. However, as eve alludes to, whether anyone would actually want to use a disabled loo is a totally different issue - they always seem far dirtier and disgusting than their regular counterparts