The Unusal Walk Around
Summary:
For the walk around the individual was accompanied by a patient experience officer and patient experience co-ordinator from the hospital. The individual undertook this piece of research voluntarily and wanted to use her experiences of being in a wheel chair to help highlight areas for improvement.
For the visit the 3 individuals visited as many areas of the hospital as possible including PALs, the pharmacy, lifts, parking and toilet facilities.
In the main most areas were accessible and suitable for wheelchair users however the main areas for improvement were:
- Lowering the level of hand drying facilities in the toilets
- Lowering the level of the hand sanitiser dispensers on corridors and entrance to wards
Other areas were also picked up and discussed throughout the visit.
Conclusion:
The individual felt the visit had been a very useful and valuable experience not just personally but also in respect to help voice the needs of others who are disabled and/or use a wheelchair.
Since the visit many of the recommendations have been actioned and the Healthwatch member has found her own confidence to continue this work when visiting other places such as shops and supermarkets to continue to help improve accessibility.
