Last year I wrote about the accessible toilet in Costa Coffee, Port Laoise. At the time, one of my concerns was that there was no emergency pull cord.

To Costa’s credit, they listened. They responded positively to my feedback, and an emergency alarm cord has now been installed.

But today I found myself writing about the same toilet again.

The cord is there—but it has been looped around the grab rail instead of hanging freely to floor level, where it is designed to be reached by someone who has fallen.

Even more concerning, this was the second accessible toilet I had visited in Port Laoise today where the emergency cord had been tied up in the same way.

This is unlikely to be unique to Costa. It is probably a well-intentioned habit, perhaps during cleaning or housekeeping, to keep the cord neat and off the floor.

The trouble is that an emergency pull cord isn’t there to look tidy. It is there to be reached when someone cannot stand.

Accessibility doesn’t end when the equipment is installed. It depends on making sure that equipment remains usable every single day.

I’m sharing this because Costa has shown before that it listens and responds constructively. I hope this can be seen in the same spirit—not as criticism for its own sake, but as a reminder that the smallest details can make the biggest difference.

If you manage an accessible toilet, please take a look at the emergency pull cord. If it has been tied up, looped around a grab rail, or secured out of the way, let it hang freely again.

It is a simple change.

And it might one day save someone’s life.