Compass Disabled Services extended with a Sanicubic

Located on an industrial estate in the heart of Taunton, Compass Disabled Services is a charity that provides a range of services for those in society with greater care needs. A disabled-user led organisation, the majority of the trustees are disabled people or carers who inherently understand the specific requirements of users and work to deliver services to ensure the optimum level of support and opportunity.

Recently, the team has introduced 'Cogs'; a dementia social club that provides respite for carers and fun activities for users. To provide a safe and unique space, the team at Compass has re-modelled one of their existing buildings and it now boasts a pub/café, games room and a large common room. In order to discharge the waste from two brand new WCs in the reception area, a Sanicubic lifting station was specified and installed by the charity's local plumbing company, L&H Plumbing.

The building was formerly offices used by the charity's independent living support workers, but as employees worked from home during the Covid pandemic, a new way of hybrid working evolved that meant the office was no longer required. An area was separated off and rented to a commercial enterprise and this included two toilets that were up a set of stairs that would have been inappropriate for Cogs users. However, the pipework for the Sanicubic lifting station, which is installed in a box in a room behind the reception, was able to reach the soil stack of the original toilets which feeds into the mains drains.

Richard Pitman, CEO, is a former Royal Navy Engineer and accomplished rugby player who became wheelchair bound after a road traffic accident. He bucked the trend in independent living by developing his own care plan with the local council, who subsequently recommended him for a support worker role in a charity. Compass was his brainchild and since stepping into a full-time role as CEO in 2006 the charity has expanded from one building to seven; each offering a set of unique services for users of varying ages. In his spare time, Richard has also overseen building projects and developments and spotted the opportunity to use a Saniflo to reach the main drainage point;

"When we initially installed the WCs we were led to believe from official sources that the manhole just outside the reception area was a mains drain, but it transpired to be a storm drain and not suitable for black waste discharge. Thankfully, my local Plumbase depot called a Saniflo representative who quickly came on site and supported my view that we could use a lifting station to pump the waste away. We agreed the model and a discharge route for the waste - into the roof apex, out of the building and across a flat roof to join the soil stack of our former toilets. After a prohibitive quote from one installer, our usual plumber managed to slot us in and installed the unit in less than two days from start to finish."

The Sanicubic is located in a games room that backs on to the two WCs located in reception. Installed in a purpose-built box with a sliding roof for ease of access (which will also double up for table skittles) the Saniflo solution literally “saved the day” and enabled the completion of the Cogs unit, which is now operational.

"The support from Saniflo was brilliant and the unit was, according to L&H Plumbing, amazingly easy to install."

Compass Disability Services is the umbrella organisation for Compass Independent Living, Compass Wellbeing, Compass Everyday, Compass Open College and Cogs.