Does the NHS not care about “reasonable adjustments” as per the equality act? Doesn’t seem to seeing as they don’t let you go to closer clinics when you are disabled and housebound!
They are supposed to provide reasonable adjustments just like any other company is supposed to. Sadly they don’t always and in my experience, have never done so in 20 years.
I often get told I have to see doctors/clinics so far away from me that I can’t get there and they won’t change it to a local to me clinic.
As I am disabled and chronically ill with no money, I don’t have a car and I don’t have a power chair so I am housebound all the time.
I have a lot of health issues and now as I posted recently, a new bladder issue.
I went to fill in the self refer form. Got a call they can’t take me as they are not local to my GP. You can only see hospitals and clinics usually in a radius of your GP. In the case of hospitals, often you can still go more locally but not always.
So many places you have to be referred within a radius of your GP, not you. So even though I am disabled and can’t walk far, I still have to see someone in a radius of my GP.
I called the lady back and said that I can’t go to the one closer to my GP as it is miles away, nearly two counties over! I can’t get there. They said “then change GP’s”. I was fuming!
I used to have a GP in the town I live in. They changed their radius so I had to move. This is my only choice. I don’t live with lots of GP clinics around me, I have none, so I have to go to the only one I can join which is in another county.
Been at this GP a while and this was the only GP to ever give me painkillers for severe chronic pain. So I wouldn’t move even if I could for now!
As you know when you are chronically ill and get a doctor that even partially listens, you keep them!
So now I can’t go to the bladder clinic near me and now am on a long waiting list for one so far away I can’t get to.
All they ever say is “change GP” which is such bad advice I feel like screaming at them on the phone, instead I say calmly that I can’t just change GP as there isn’t one anyway. They then do nothing.
They won’t do anything else other than say the same things over and over again. She told me I could change doctors 8 times in a 10 minute phone call even though I kept saying I can’t.
So basically I can see the one miles away or I can see no one. How on earth is that fair?
One is a Locala clinic and the other is just NHS but both are in clinics rather than hospitals. They both say the same on the phone that I either have to change GP which not only can I not do as there is just one GP, but I wouldn’t anyway as my GP knows my health! Shouldn’t even get asked to do that to be honest! I am disabled, not lazy!
Absolutely unfair that being disabled means I don’t get any adjustments so I can be seen locally.
I need to be seen about this so what on earth am I supposed to do?
This happens all the time. Normally it is just hospitals, this is a clinic so it is so far away.
I strongly think that for disabled people who can’t just go out when they want, that we should be able to be seen local to us no matter what! It is not our fault we are disabled. It is not out fault if we have no money like myself, so I can’t buy a power chair or car.
We should get local appointments not get forced to somehow get to clinics we can’t get to.
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