What makes you angry?

[onewheeldave 22]

Being unable to access medical treatment due to the NHS's refusal to acknowledge the fact that autistic people often cannot endure the bureaucracy they impose as necessary pre-requisites.

 

It often causes so much stress and damage, that the autistic person simply ceases to try to get treatment, as they fear the consequences of trying to engage with the NHS will itself be extremely harmfull to their mental health.

Edited January 9, 2016 by onewheeldave

[markyspark 10]

I haven't experienced the following issue but I fully expect it. I've recently been awarded PIP at the enhanced rate and I've decided now is the time to get my driving licence. I've already bought a little van to use once I've passed the test. I chose a van as I only need two seats and there will be more than enough room in the back for my mobility scooter and walker. I fully expect grief off people when I park my van in the disabled bays, certain people will make assumptions and tell me I shouldn't park there. I do however have a warped sense of humour and am looking forward to see their faces when I get out and use my stick/walker/scooter. People can be so fickle sometimes

[medusa 16]

I haven't experienced the following issue but I fully expect it. I've recently been awarded PIP at the enhanced rate and I've decided now is the time to get my driving licence. I've already bought a little van to use once I've passed the test. I chose a van as I only need two seats and there will be more than enough room in the back for my mobility scooter and walker. I fully expect grief off people when I park my van in the disabled bays, certain people will make assumptions and tell me I shouldn't park there. I do however have a warped sense of humour and am looking forward to see their faces when I get out and use my stick/walker/scooter. People can be so fickle sometimes

 

I once made the mistake of mentally (only inside my own head) telling someone off for parking their sports car in a disabled bay, and then had to tell myself off when the owner of said sports car arrived back at the car in his very light and sporty wheelchair, which he took to pieces and stowed in the back of the car and then walked to the side of the car on his hands and climbed up into the drivers' seat using arm power alone.

 

You can't judge the disability by looking at the vehicle...

[hennypenny 10]

I had to drop off my daughter at the Sheffield interchange the other day. I googled to see where I could park and found :-

 

http://www.disabledgo.com/access-guide/sheffield-city-council/sheffield-interchange

 

On street marked Blue Badge bays are not available.

Clearly signed and / or standard marked parking bays are not available.

There is not a designated drop off point.

 

The main Sheffield bus station doesn't have any disabled parking (or indeed any parking), nor a drop off point!!!

 

---------- Post added 13-01-2016 at 19:35 ----------

 

As an add on to my last post, I asked the council and South Yorkshire Transport both why there was no disabled parking at the bus station. They both blamed the other one, and the council also added that no one had ever asked about disabled parking at the bus station before, and therefore it was low on their list of priorities as they had limited funds. I find this very hard to believe, surely disabled people use buses as much as anyone else, and also they have people to pick up from buses as much as anyone else. It might be useful therefore if they received more queries about disabled parking there

[Plain Talker 11]

I am going to a wedding and needed disabled facilities at the Hotel. After spending all morning looking the best I could get was a ramp at the door of the Hotel and a Lift.Why is it not the law that every Hotel should have at least one room with bathroom and other facilities needed by disabled people. This makes me so angry!

 

Anouska, hotels in general offer an atrocious service to disabled people. The hotel industry, in fact all sectors of the service and retail industry, should discover the spending power of our disabled citizens. I never book on line so that I can discuss my requirements, and then I telephone again prior to arrival, even then I had one hotel that had booked me into a room on the second floor with no lift. I have had showers with a 12inch step or the only access through a back door via the kitchen.

However there are some gems out there. If I knew your area of travel I may know of a local hotel. My favourite hotel is the Rudding Park, near Harrogate who have a range of rooms catering for people with varying disabilities. They obviously realise that one size does not fit all. When I book I just request my favourite room and on arrival everything I need is in the room and my favourite newspaper on the mat in the morning. The Hand Picked Hotels are also pretty good.I just wish more hotels adopted this policy.

 

I went away with my best friend to Torquay about 20, months ago.

 

The hotel had been instructed that as we are both wheelchair users we needed to be in a ground floor accessible room.

 

We discovered that another person, from another coach party had been assigned to the accessible room.

We were given a awful room, on the top floor. The room was filthy and damp, (the flat roof above was leaking like a sieve) and we could not get into the lift with a wheelchair, so had to use rollator-walking frame 'deelies', which also barely fitted in the lift. the lift door was manually opened and was too heavy. The room door itself was not wide enough to get the walking frames through and there was a floorboard missing which caused me to fall.

 

We nicknamed the place Fawlty Towers. We were on the look out for Basil and Sybil.

 

We complained and we were moved to a slightly more accessible and better accommodated place, across the road.

[sedith 19]

People texting on their phones whilst I am speaking to them.

[anouska 10]

Today they had a event at our local church. The people who went parked in my cul-de-sac on the pavement. This meant I was unable to get past .This happens very often. Is it illegal to park on the pavement?

[IRONMONGER 10]

Today they had a event at our local church. The people who went parked in my cul-de-sac on the pavement. This meant I was unable to get past .This happens very often. Is it illegal to park on the pavement?

 

I have always thought that it was illegal to park on pavements, in fact over my long driving career I am certain that I have heard of drivers being fined for parking with two wheels on the kerb. I have also heard of drivers being fined for parking more than nine inches away from the kerb edge.

However there is currently a bill going through Parliament notably the 'Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill 2015-16' so an end to your problem may be in sight.

[sgtkate 10]

Many thanks ... Some of these comments are really useful. I too work voluntarily writing for a blog for a Disability Group.

 

They said to write about anything and everything, but I think I've told everyone enough about how much good sea water does for me so thanks for giving me some more ideas. Xx

 

A lot of people have mentioned hotels without basic access. Could you write an article or even create a small database of hotels that have been vetted and approved as being wheelchair or limited mobility friendly? By the sounds of it, most travel booking websites don't seem to have this information. You could even use it as a way of making some money for the charity by linking up with say Trivago or another hotel booking website so that when someone tries to book a hotel through your site it takes them to Trivago and you get a small bit of 'click through' money, only a few pence for each once but better than nothing!

 

---------- Post added 18-01-2016 at 16:30 ----------

 

I have always thought that it was illegal to park on pavements, in fact over my long driving career I am certain that I have heard of drivers being fined for parking with two wheels on the kerb. I have also heard of drivers being fined for parking more than nine inches away from the kerb edge.

However there is currently a bill going through Parliament notably the 'Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill 2015-16' so an end to your problem may be in sight.

 

It's been discussed in great length on another thread, but it's not illegal to park on a pavement. It's only illegal if the car blocks access to someone, so if you can't get past with a pram or in a wheelchair/mobility scooter then it is an offence so ring the police and get them to deal with it! Strangely it is illegal to DRIVE on a pavement so how the Police think a car got there to park without driving on it is baffling...

[hennypenny 10]

I am going to a wedding and needed disabled facilities at the Hotel. After spending all morning looking the best I could get was a ramp at the door of the Hotel and a Lift.Why is it not the law that every Hotel should have at least one room with bathroom and other facilities needed by disabled people. This makes me so angry!

 

Have you tried Travelodge? I have often stayed with them and find their disabled rooms and access quite good, but I am not in a wheelchair so not sure if they are ok for wheelchair users.

[*Peaches* 10]

My GP and the NHS requirements to qualify for an electric wheelchair!!

 

I previously have bought my own electric wheelchairs, but my previous one has just died on me, a week after Christmas, and according to my GP, I dont qualify for an electric one, because I dont need one inside the house.... So she offered me a manual lone.... Hmmm, considering I'm hemiplegic on the left side, I'll just go round in circles all day, shall I?!

[DisSheffield 10]

check this site out Peaches, might be of some use: http://www.rightwheelchair.org.uk/