I've tried a couple of times to post about this then fumed too much, then thought maybe I already had and deleted, but if I did, I can't find my post.
I've an appointment coming up in an NHS clinic, the service itself being provided by a private contractor to the NHS. I haven't been to before. I got my appointment by telephone, with a text to confirm, then a letter.
The letter includes a form for me to fill in and maps, one for driving, one for bus plus walking. They are not big and are very faint. Even with a bright light and a magnifying glass, key road names near the centre are not legible. There is a name for where to get off the bus, but no indication as to a landmark such as a school or supermarket or pub.
Looking at the appointment details, it tells you to arrive five minutes early and wait at the entrance. The relevant bus is half-hourly and very unreliable, the more so for a shortage of drivers, therefore it would be logical to set out to catch the bus before the one wanted, and given that the path isn't clearly marked on the map, it would make sense to allow plenty of time for wrong turns. Therefore, one could arrive well over half an hour early.
On the other hand, unlike many people, I can afford a taxi. But given that recently I took a taxi for what should have been a 20 min journey and it took nearly 40 min, and given that we've had very high winds and snow which has led to road closures for repairs near me and therefore logically has nearer the clinic, I think it would be realistic to allow half an hour leeway.
Fortunately, unlike some people that have appointments, I have access to the internet, so I looked on Google street view to find where to wait. The road has houses and a school and what appears to be a playground and warehouses. I cannot find any public benches or cafés or supermarkets. So if I allow suitable time leeway, I can find myself standing in cold, wind, rain or whatever for half an hour or more.
Meanwhile, the letter asks for lots of information to be given, including on the back of the maps, so you'd better have a good memory for routes to get back. There are, however, no questions whatsoever about disability/access needs except insofar as inferences may be drawn from health questions. There are no boxes to tick for things like visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobility difficulties etc.
I looked on the relevant private contractor's website. No disability/accessibility info whatsoever. I looked on various bits of the NHS site. No information there either.
In theory, I could go and recce it, but since you're only allowed in the building if you've got an appointment, that's no good.
I telephoned the number on the letter. I very obviously got through to a call centre. The call handler, whilst seemingly doing her best to be helpful, struggled to help because there's no system for passing on such information.
So we shall see what happens when I get there. I hope they're not assuming that anyone waiting outside will be able to hear them, or that they are safe to walk through any crowded areas. I hope that if I get soggy whilst waiting, particularly if my bum gets wet sitting on a kerb edge whilst waiting, they won't get annoyed if that means I get the examination couch or whatever mucky.
Given that my ataxia seems to be relapsing and I've been having falls (though some into an object not hitting the ground) at the rate of about one a week over the last 2-3 months, if I'm having a bad day and have a call, I shall feel sorely tempted to embarass them by dialling 999 as I lie on the floor. I shan't, because the ambulance service is totally overwhelmed, so I shall have to just settle for embarassing anyone that looks annoyed with me instead of either helping or, after a quick look to see I'm either ok or being helped by someone, carries on their way un-nosily.
But how on earth do people with major access problems deal with this rubbish?