I had cause to take someone to an outpatient appointment at the Mater hospital this week, and had rang in advance to check if I would be able to get a wheelchair, as the person I was bringing had poor mobility and could not walk from main entrance to outpatient department. I was advised to park in a blue badge space and ask the person in the security hut to either ask a porter to bring a wheelchair, or ask for a wheelchair, so I could assist the patient myself. On arrival there were no blue badge spaces so I parked in the main visitor carpark and walked to security hut as advised. The person there advised me that the porters were not insured to transport patients from the carpark and when I asked if they could get a wheelchair for me I was told to go and look for one myself. There was no one at reception to ask where to find a chair but thankfully a very kind domestic worker came to my aid, took me to level 2 where they knew there should be a wheelchair and advised me how to get to outpatients. I was so grateful that they went out of their way to help me. It was very difficult to safely use the wheelchair from the carpark to the hospital main entrance as the lowered areas on kerbs were all blocked by vehicles, so I had to assist my patient off the chair to bump the wheelchair up and down kerbs before helping them on again. All of this made the whole experience much more stressful than I believe it should have been. I suggest that the Mater hospital review their disabled access and the information given to patients who require assistance when attending outpatient appointments.
"Disabled access to Mater hospital"
About: Mater Hospital / Outpatients Services Mater Hospital Outpatients Services BT14 6AB
Posted by CJ72 (as ),
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