If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
Disabled Access
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
Yesterday I went to Beamish, the open air useum near Stanley in County Durham, and GWST's little sister was there, complete with her shiny new wheelchair.
I always thought I was quite aware of ther disabled, but it was quite an eye-opener. The staff were immensely helpful, but things like the cafe being up a steep flight of steps, all the high kerbs, all the buildings being up stairs all made me appreciate just how hard it must be for those in a wheelchair. I pushed, so it was OK for GWST's sister, but it is terrible for anyone who doesn't have that help.
It was the little things that got me, like having to plan routes in advance to avoid high kerbs, and so on.
Disabled access should definitely be the highest thing on the government's agenda, and any company that does not at least attempt to meet the new access regulations should be closed down.
I will be fair to Beamish, however: it's hard to have authentic Victorian buildings and have disabled access. The staff were wonderful, and helped us down the drift mine and things in the chair.
I always thought I was quite aware of ther disabled, but it was quite an eye-opener. The staff were immensely helpful, but things like the cafe being up a steep flight of steps, all the high kerbs, all the buildings being up stairs all made me appreciate just how hard it must be for those in a wheelchair. I pushed, so it was OK for GWST's sister, but it is terrible for anyone who doesn't have that help.
It was the little things that got me, like having to plan routes in advance to avoid high kerbs, and so on.
Disabled access should definitely be the highest thing on the government's agenda, and any company that does not at least attempt to meet the new access regulations should be closed down.
I will be fair to Beamish, however: it's hard to have authentic Victorian buildings and have disabled access. The staff were wonderful, and helped us down the drift mine and things in the chair.
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
0
Comments
Many things we able bodies people take for granted, you dont realise how bad it is until you are confined to a wheelchair or caring for someone in a wheelchair.
Aye, like going up a flight of stairs.
Luckily GWST's sister is in a wheelchair but able-bodied, so we could walk her up the stairs and carry the chair up folded, but if she hadn't have been it'd have been a nightmare.
As I said, it's only when you're pushing one of the things or, worse still, having to wheel one whilst sitting in it, that it becomes apparent how bad the situation is.
saying that ...there is so much that can and should be done that wouldn't cost much at all.
a million small tiny littkle jobs around the uk ...would help so much.
i know in some cases they can tell that the cars have stopped, but what if it's only crossing one lane and the other is still going??
you mark my words.
there aren't any blind people on here ...
and there may be blind people using this site!
speech-out programs?
i used to work for a blind society, and a member there had been blind since the day she was born and uses a computer. there's quite a lot to help them these days.
i'm not entirely sure that there is definitely a program compatible with internet sites, but it can't be impossible with the current speech out programs.
Aye but with most things if you read the small print and know your stuff you will find a way of getting around that.
The lights would be on green before I got across and once I waited for a gap in the traffic for about ten minutes before someone saw the stick and stopped the traffic so I could continue.
I agree Kermit, much more thought is needed in planning but unfortunately people come last it seems these days.
Must be scary in the city. I remember visiting Salford uni for a lecture day in college and people weren't stopping even when we pressed the traffic lights.
I think also, people should be made more aware of hidden disabilities too...
It's known as being DDA compliant - Disability Discrimination Act, or something. It's been a big issue for GP surgeries who, ironically given the field they work in, are horrendous for access.
I know of a cafe in Durham that closed because the local council wouldn't allow them to remain open without the provision of a disabled toilet which they couldn't afford to pay for and didn't have the space in which to put it.
Seems to me that this legislation is very unfair on small businesses as the costs of the renovations to them could be a noteworthy amount. Perhaps the government could impose a minimum turnover threshold under which the laws would not be enforced so that small businesses are not bankrupted for a small minority.
To me the question on livelyhood is more important than that of fairness. How's it fair anyway if the disabled user is getting a more personalised service?
To me it's the same as claiming discrimination when my being shit at football prevents me being a professional footballer.
We've all got strengths and weaknesses. This is natural selection.
Just playing Devil's Advocate.
Firstly I hope you never wake up one morning being told that you have your leg amputated (full leg) or will be dead that day. So you decide that of course you aint ready to die, your aged 69 and overnight you decide to have the full leg amputation. your stay in hospital is ok because everywhere is accesible for wheelchairs.
So once you get home you need to get into your car.............oh shit, you need your wheelchair to get across the road into your car and oh fuckety fuck your car is on a main road and you have to get into that car along a main bus route and oh dear me all the kerbs arent lowered for wheelchairs.......so what the fook shall i do :chin:
Ok lets just take the wheelchair into town, thats no problem.........is it ? Ah not to us who arent in wheelchairs, its a doddle. Firstly the post office doesent have a ramp so how am i to get into there......hmmmm this is gonna be difficult, so yes we will get by that we will change post offices to the one in the other part of town.......furher to go but thats ok isnt it.
Oh shit i need the loo..........where is there a disabled access toilet.......cos i cant walk I need a lift if its upstairs. hmmmmm in my town there is one disabled access toilet...i hope there aint a queue cos disabled access toilets normally consist of only one.......pray nobodys in there eh. In town i need to visit the dentist........oh shit there are steps and my wheelchair wont go up steps.....what shall I do ?
I wanna go on holiday for a week.........no problem in finding some where to stay. But i need a large bathroom so I can get the wheelchair in and also rooms where there is plenty of room beside the bed so I can get in and out of bed. Also dining rooms need to be accessible so i can actually get in to eat my breakfast.......but thats no problem is it ? Well actually it is, you try finding a place in a main town which is wheelchair acesible and central.....very hard to do.....I assure you.
So just think before you speak because one day you could find yourslef overnight in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. dont you sit there and say Do you think people like bein in wheelchairs.....do you think its fun ?
Get out into the real world were real people cannot have a decent quality of life.....people like you really make me sick cos you aint got a clue what the fook your talking about.
Good point though, 'tis very annoying. And women parking
What about disabled toilets? I use them sometimes if I find them before I come across the gents. They're very roomy too!
I always see them as 'disabled-friendly' rather than 'disabled-only'. Should I feel guilty?
Quite.
The thing about the disabled, you see, is by definition they're not able to do what an able bodied person would.
To treat them differently is not to treat them equally. That's positive discrimination and, along with all the people encouraging me to sue someone if I've fallen over while drunk and hurt myself, it's something I'd like to see eradicated from the face of the Earth.
she is DISABLED. meaning she cannot do the things an able bodied person can do.
i don't for a moment expect the whole world to be opened up and changed for her ...it isn't possible.
it simply isn't possible.
to penalize and threaten businesess is ridiculous ...yes do what you can ...but the very definition of disabled ...means you cannot do ....cannot have ...acsess to everything that able bodied people can have and do.
most of this is political fucking correctness gone mad.
you are disabled ...meaning you cannot do what able bodied people do ...you cannot acsess all the areas able bodied people can ... it's called the reality of being disabled for fucks sake.
next ...people will be demanding that the mountain called snowdon ...will have to have a fucking giant three thousand foot stairlift!
lets get real pleeeeease!
whats does dis ...abled mean to you people ...it means ...dis ...abled fro taking part and joining in some of the things that able bodied people take for granted ....think about it.dis ...abled ...
We now have to have high-visibility automatic doors so that partially sighted customers can easily see how to get in.
Disabled spaces must have room around them to get wheelchairs to the door, and spaces must be provided for mothers with children.
Seating must be provided wherever the customer may have to queue, especially by the checkout.
Stairs must be fitted with high visibility edge strips so that they can be seen.
The fire alarm must be accompanied by a little red light to allow deaf people to know it's going off.
There must be little trays at anywhere where the customer might need to use change to allow people with arthritis to tip all their coins out rather than having to struggle to grip them inside a purse or wallet.
Special trolleys must be provided to allow some customers to sit down if necessary.
In addition, there are lots of regulations on how we must treat customers with disabilities.
In contrast, at my mother's school, they tried to make her walk up the stairs to use a photocopier rather than using the one in the office because it would 'disturb the staff'. she's got two arthritic knees and finds climbing stairs very difficult.
I love you.
Though doesn't Snowden already have that train?
Its the Disability Discrimination Act. This in practice means that all businesses need to make sure that they are open and accessable to disabled people.
This not only means ramps etc. But also provision for blind people in a fire with braille fire exit signs.
BUT. And this is where it gets difficult, the DDA over laps quite badly with many other pieces of legislation.
Council planning laws are a prime example of this. Listed buildings are not allowed to alter the outside appearance and a ramp does this. So whether council or national law wins no-one knows.
Being a small shop we don't even have the obligation to provide customer's toilets (I think anyway) so I think we should be okay in that particular department.
I don't think any shop is OBLIGATED to provide customer toilets, only staff toilets for over a certain number of employees.