Public Services we take for granted
This blog was inspired both by a blog written by a fellow disability activist, Crimson Crip (http://crimsoncrip.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/i-demand-the-right-to-a-fked-up-lif/) and by recent personal experiences.
It’s a bit of a national pastime to complain about public services, but there are some that we just simply take for granted, aren’t there?
For an issue completely unrelated to my disability, my GP thinks I should have a scan. No big deal. If I’d thought about it, I might have anticipated a long waiting list, or that I might have to wait around for a while at the hospital, but I did take the fact that I would actually be able to have the scan for granted. Apparently, foolishly.
The appointment came through. The ridiculous nature of my disability means I can’t sit for longer than 3 minutes, so for any journey longer than a mile or so I have to be transported lying flat. I ‘phoned to book an ambulance for the appointment. No problem with that – but did I remember that the ambulance might arrive up to two hours before the appointment and might not collect me until up to two hours after the appointment? Yes, I’m aware of 
that.
Unfortunately I cannot stand for very long either, so even if the scan appointment runs to time, I could conceivably be in the waiting room for up to four hours, so will there be somewhere I can lie down at the hospital? Um, no – it’s an outpatient hospital. There are only seats in the waiting room. I’ll either have to sit or stand for the up to four hours I might need to wait.
On asking what, in my situation, I could do in order to have the scan that my GP appears to think I need, the answer was “I don’t know, sorry. Looks like you won’t be able to have it”.
Along with most other disabled people I am used to most places not being able to cater for the most commonly-occurring disabilities, let alone an unusual one like mine – but a hospital? Unable to provide facilities for a patient to lie down?
The same week I was reminded of some of the other public services we just assume are available to all. But as Crimson Crip (from whom I have learnt so much) points out, often not for disabled people. Examples she quotes include:
The much more sensitive way of dealing with victims of rape nowadays (using a dedicated centre such as a house rather than the clinical atmosphere of an A & E department or the off-putting atmosphere of a police station) excludes most disabled people as very few of these units are physically accessible or have adapted showers. Disabled rape victims have to be dealt with in A & E units or police stations.
The barriers for disabled people reporting crimes are still enormous. Many police stations are inaccessible in the first place. Then there is a lack of understanding about how to respond to disability hate crime, or indeed how to respond to a disabled person reporting any sort of crime, whether disability-related or not.
Disabled victims of domestic abuse do not have the same access to services as non-disabled victims. Very few refuges are suitable for disabled people – not just people who use wheelchairs, but visually impaired people, deaf people, or those with mental health issues, or learning disabilities, can get a raw deal too. It’s even worse for men as there is little provision for male victims of domestic abuse anyway.
The same issues occur again and again for disabled people wishing to access services for the homeless, for drug and substance issues, for mental health issues and so on and so on.
And, somehow, with the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Hell-bent on cutting public sector spending, I don’t see things getting any better anytime soon.
What say you?
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Obviously, no-one can build in an answer for every type of disability because some – like yours – are very rare. So it's about making the best use of resources. I cannot believe, for instance, that it is not policy to use somewhere sensitive for dealing with rape complaints. There must be public centres which would meet both the access and shower facility requirements, such as a nearby school for instance. Or maybe even a local church. All the authorities need to do is hunt out an appropriate location and then work out s system for using it if and when needed. It's not rocket science.
Yes, exactly. Most of it isn't rocket science. Or even resources. It's just finding someone who cares enough to think outside the norm.
I had another scan since I wrote this blog, at a specialist spinal unit. I was told that finding me somewhere to lie down in their X-ray unit “couldn't be done” (in a spinal unit!!). What they probably meant was that person didn't think it had been done before. After much fighting I finally spoke to the radiographer himself, who simply arranged for me to use a spare bed in a nearby ward for the day. Very simple, no cost, just took someone prepared to think creatively. But how many people give up the fight when every little thing that most people take for granted is made to be such hard work?
We think that accessibility is all about money and resources – but often it's about a lack of willingness to even engage with the issues. If when safe houses or refuges or rape reporting centres were initially sourced someone was thinking about access issues, it would be much cheaper than realising afterwards that it's too expensive to adapt the building they'd chosen.
If there was enough awareness, and the issue of disabled people was felt to be important enough, then maybe more resources would be made available and people would be prepared to think round some of the obstacles.
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You have hit the nail on the head right here – What they probably meant was that person didn't think it had been done before
Thinking a bit creatively isn't hard and you have an massage table, it wouldn't have taken much for the ambulance driver to have loaded that on the ambulance and a porter brought it in and set it up for you. The next part of doing this would be all the nay saying over liability, but in truth surely the litigation faced for discriminating against you is far higher than their perceived liability if you injure yourself on your own equipment (if you follow my train of thought).
I had a quick skim of the Crimson Crip's blog and the mentions of being treated as if you had a mental illness when you have a disability really shows how much education is needed in the public sector regarding disabilities, and God forbid should you have a hidden disability!
I did suggest I brought my own table, but apparently “there isn't room for it”.
Yes, the most discrimination (and disability hate crime – which may be my next blog) is faced by people with mental health issues or learning disabilities. People who don't “look” disabled but may need extra support. I was reading about a young man who was taken to hospital for severe seizures but they refused to treat him because he was autistic. He became frustrated and they ended up arresting him. He went in in a stretcher and came out in handcuffs saying “but I'm a good boy”. It was a week before they allowed his mother to see him.
Twitter: evenbreak
Sheesh, my blood run cold as I read that Jane. How can officers / hospital staff not see that there are issues? Write a blog on it quick! How on earth can other human beings treat each other this way?
How can a hospital be allowed to pick and choose it's patients? – a rant is brewing, shall save it for your blog post
You would think that a hospital that is familiar with your particular disability would make arrangements for your visits. I am glad that you found someone with a common sense approach.
My worry is the impact of this lack of common sense in public services including social Services