Month: June 2022

Ensuring all NHS staff receive training in learning difficulties [what the NHS calls learning disabilities] and autism now have the full force of the law behind them.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism programme is now law, as part of the new Health and Care Act 2022.

Paula McGowan campaigned tirelessly for the training after the death of her 18-year-old son, Oliver, in Bristol’s Southmead Hospital.

Oliver had a learning difficulty, autism, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.  He died after suffering an allergic reaction when he was given an antipsychotic at the hospital.

His family say the hospital gave him the drug against their wishes and those of Oliver himself.

His brain swelled so much after the antipsychotic drug that it began to come out of the base of his skull.

In the wake of the tragedy, Paula started a petition to prevent avoidable deaths by making learning difficulty and autism training something every NHS member of staff must have.

The programme was tested last year and an evaluation is due to be published in the coming weeks.

‘So much better outcomes’

In a video posted on Twitter, Paula McGowan said other people with learning difficulties and autism would now have “so much better health and social care outcomes”.

She has also thanked all those who have supported her campaign, including Baroness Sheila Hollins.

Hollins is a professor of the psychiatry of learning difficulty at St George’s, University of London.

She was a strong supporter of McGowan’s campaign and put forward the amendment to the legislation to make sure the scheme became law.

This is a reminder that there will be no rail services at all on some of GWR’s routes on the strike days this week – Tuesday 21 June, Thursday 23 June and Saturday 25 June.   Where services can run they will be extremely limited with much later start and much earlier finish times.  

There will also be a restricted service on Wednesday 22 June, Friday 24 June and Sunday 26 June, with services starting late and finishing very early. 

Full timetables are now in online journey planners for Tuesday 21 June and Thursday 23 June, and timetables for days between the strikes will be available from Saturday 18th June.  Where services are running rail travel should only be considered if absolutely necessary. 

There will be no alternative road replacement services available, and there is still the possibility of further changes – even on the day.  

As well as checking timetables, there are maps ww.gwr.com/strike showing which routes are open.  This will be kept updated with the latest information. 

Disabled drivers are facing long delays in their driving licence applications being approved by the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).  The waiting time for motorists with medical conditions has risen by 65% in 12 months.

Drivers must tell the DVLA about certain health conditions.  These include diabetes, sleep apnoea, epilepsy or a heart condition.

An investigation by an online car dealership (Heycar), found a 65% rise in the time it took to get their application approved, with more than 300,000 Disabled drivers affected by delays.

The report said one of the causes of the backlog include DVLA staff working from home not having access to a vital database.

The DVLA expects to get back to their ‘normal’ turnaround times later this year, with 90 per cent of medical applications being dealt with within 90 days, by the end of September.  However, the current delays are seriously affecting the lives and mobility of Disabled people.

As well as the long delays in dealing with licence applications, Disabled people are finding it extremely difficult to contact DVLA, which means they don’t know what is happening to their application.

DVLA seems to not be aware, or not care, that these delays mean many Disabled people are having to make monthly payments for vehicles that they cannot use. 

While the Forum understands that the pandemic has caused a backlog and delays within many services, it is not acceptable that Disabled drivers receive a worse service from the DVLA than not-yet Disabled people -leaving some drivers waiting up to six months for a new or renewed licence.

Laura Welti, the Forum Manager, said:

“The DVLA must cut the amount of time it takes to deal with licence applications from Disabled drivers and improve its communications.”

For more information, including medical driving licence FAQs, please visit the Heycar medical licence guide.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has ordered airports to set out by next week how they will improve services and support for Disabled people following recent, high-profile failures.

Disabled passengers have been left on aircraft for long periods after landing as the airports and airplanes industry struggles to recruit enough staff following the pandemic.  This has been made worse by a lot of flight cancellations and long delays.  

As well as needing assistance with wheelchairs and to get off their airplane, Disabled people are more likely to need support from airport liaison staff when flights are delayed.

In its letter to airports and airlines, the CAA says the recent “significant service failings” (experienced by some Disabled passengers) are “simply unacceptable”.

The CAA’s letter warns: 

“We will continue to closely monitor the quality of service provided and if these significant service failures continue, we will consider whether further action is needed, including using enforcement powers.”

The authority notes a recent increase in the percentage of passengers requesting the assistance service.

The letter said: 

“It is not clear what is causing this increase in demand for the assistance service, but through working with airlines, airports should ensure that support offered meets the particular need of each passenger, both to ensure that the assistance is appropriate but also to make the general operation more effective.”

Disabled people can let airlines and airports know in advance that they will need support and the CAA said that it will work with stakeholders to spread that message.

Findings show that Disabled football fans are discriminated against   when they go to away games. The survey was by the charity Level Playing Field (LPF).

Of more than 600 Disabled football fans:

43% had some form of abuse or negativity at them at an away match in the last 5 years.

26% had verbal abuse.

16% had experienced disability-related offensive songs, chants or gestures.

13% said that “fear of disability abuse” was a barrier for them when attending away matches.

There is also conern about how staff at grounds have poor levels of Disability awareness.  Public transport to the matches is inaccessible and stadiums have general access problems.

Mikey Erhardt, Communications Officer at Get Yourself Active, said:

“These new findings from our friends at Level Playing Field paint a stark picture of the reality of being a sports fan as a Disabled person.

In a month that has seen the governing bodies that run the “beautiful game” fail Disabled fans, it is clear that individual clubs also need to do more to support Disabled people’s right to enjoy the world’s favourite sport.

We want to see changes made quickly, with stadium staff empowered to root out those who chant at or intimidate Disabled fans. We wish to see more training given to staff to understand the needs of Disabled fans, and more thought given to accessibility in the design of spaces and services.”

You can find out more about the survey results in this article from LPF on their website: https://www.levelplayingfield.org.uk/news-item/level-playing-field-away-fan-survey-results/

The Government’s Department for Levelling Up is inviting feedback on the accessibility of the recent local elections. They are calling for “as much feedback on Disabled people’s experiences as possible”.

The survey is completely anonymous and will be open until Friday 17 June.

The survey can be found here: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=63460&qid=10870626

Accessible and Welsh verisons of the survey can be found here: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=63461&qid=10870626

There is a link in the survey’s introduction to a Word version for anyone wishing to complete it offline or who would like to see the questions before starting.

This week is Diabetes Awareness Week (13 to 19 June).

Diabetes is a serious and complicated condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high. Approximately one in 14 people in the UK live with diabetes. 

Raising awareness of the condition is one of the most important ways of providing support to people who have diabetes as well as being able to detect early symptoms of Type 2 diabetes.

For more information about diabetes and the support available, visit Diabetes UK.

How to get help with getting food if you’re self-isolating or if you can’t afford food.

Help with food if you’re self-isolating

Call 0800 694 0184 if you need help to get food because you’re self-isolating.

They will try to find a volunteer to help you.

Help if you can’t afford to buy food

Call 0800 694 0184 to find out:

1) if you can be referred to a food bank, for short-term support in a financial crisis,

2) if you can be referred a FOOD club, for help feeding your family, or

3) information about community or voluntary organisations that can provide you with food.

You can also call the Citizens Advice Foodbank helpline for emergency food support: 0808 208 2138.

If you’re on certain benefits and have a child under 4 or are at least 10 weeks pregnant, you may also be able to get help from Healthy Start.

If your child usually has Free School Meals but is not attending school because of coronavirus (COVID-19), speak to their school to find out how to get free school meal vouchers or other support with food.