Disability and special needs
Over 1 billion people are estimated to experience disability which corresponds to about 15% of the world's population. People with disabilities can face barriers, stigmatization and discrimination when accessing health-related services. All people with a disability have the same general health care needs as everyone else and therefore need equal access to mainstream healthcare services. These links below can help you by providing you with additional information that can support your needs around disability.
As an inclusive Trust, we always aim to ensure that options for reasonable adjustments are offered to all patients with disabilities or additional needs. Sometimes patients and visitors are not aware of what they can ask for or what may help to make their visit to the hospital easier.
Below are links to some examples of what you can ask for when visiting our hospitals. This is not an exhaustive list, so if you require a different adjustment to support your needs, if it is within our power to change, we’ll support you as best as we can. Please click here for some examples.
ABLEize Disability and Mobility Directory is the largest and most viewed UK disability, special needs and mobility website on the net. It was created with one simple aim, to make disability and special needs resources easy to find under one roof. ABLEize actively seeks out new and exciting social activities, charities and support groups and adds them to this up-to-date and trusted disability directory.
For more information, please click here
Scopisre is a disability equality charity in England and Wales. They provide practical information and emotional support when it's most needed and campaign relentlessly to create a fairer society for people with disabilities. This is done through their Scope helpline, online community, a range of employment and child sleep services, community engagement programmes, partnerships and more.
Click here to visit the Scope website.
BID Services is a charity that works in partnership with children, young people, adults and their families/carers. They support people who are deaf, hard of hearing, visually impaired or have a dual sensory loss. They provide a range of specialist support services for people living with sensory loss and aim to support people to live independently.
Click here to visit the BID Services website.
Disability Rights UK is the UK’s leading organisation led by, run by, and working for Disabled people. We work with Disabled People’s Organisations and governments across the UK to influence regional and national change for better rights, benefits, quality of life and economic opportunities for Disabled people.
Click here to visit the Disability Rights UK website.
Mencap is passionate about changing the world for everyone with a learning disability. The services range from round-the-clock car, to helping someone join in with local leisure activities, providing advice and information on employment, education and even things like reporting a crime to the police. In a nutshell, they help in any area of a person’s life where they need support.
Click here to visit the Mencap website.
Contact was founded by families of disabled children, who recognised that even if their child’s conditions were different, they shared a common experience – of being a family with a disabled child. They understood how important it is to support each other. Aside from providing local advice, our regional teams organise coffee mornings, family fun days and outings, bringing families together for friendship and support.