I am looking forward to a satisfactory reply.

Enda Kenny, TD

Office of the Taoiseach,

Government Building,

Dublin2

Co Dublin

28^th November 2011.

Dear Enda,

I am a bit disappointed over the last few years about writing to all Fine Gael Town Councils and the Lord Mayors after their election congratulating them and requesting meeting on disability issues but there has been no acknowledgment from anyone of them. Prior to your election as the Taoiseach I met with you and you said you were going to follow up on their actions.

On behalf of disabled people I represent I find this insulting when they have a majority in all local councils. I have been working with the South Dublin County Council and Monaghan Town Council and they acknowledge my work. Yet why am I not being accepted by the Mayo County Council?

I am looking forward to a satisfactory reply.

Yours Sincerely,

……………………………

Tom Chambers

Insulin pump access limited

Insulin pump access limited

By Jennifer Hough

Monday, November 21, 2011

CHILDREN with diabetes in the West of Ireland have no access to vital insulin pumps which means parents must administer multiple injections every day.

There are at least 800 children in Mayo, Roscommon and Galway with type one diabetes which requires daily insulin injections, but just 12 insulin pumps are available for both children and adults.

Children in the West also have no access to a psychologist, as children in Dublin do, or, currently, a dietician as she is on maternity leave.

Parents said they are being discriminated against simply because of where they live.

Noreen Fahy, whose daughter Grace, 9, was diagnosed with diabetes at 4, said it is "frightening" to think there is a better service out there for her child but she cannot access it because there is not enough money in the HSE West to provide it.

Ms Fahy, from Galway, said: "I work in a dialysis unit and I see the long term complications from diabetes. No matter how good you are at giving regular injections, it is not as good as the pump which regulates the insulin and slowly releases it into the system. I am very fearful about the long-term effects that come with badly controlled insulin."

Veronica Fitzgerald, also from Galway, has to attend her six-year-old son Declan’s school twice a day to administer insulin because he has no pump. Declan is the third generation of the family to have diabetes.

"I am a diabetic and my mother is too so I know all about the effects. I have to be on call all the time to give him insulin and it is a big tie. With the pump there are great benefits but there is a waiting list with hundreds of names on it.

"There is no back up at all really. Our dietician is on maternity leave and not being replaced. We really feel we are being discriminated against."

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames said children with diabetes outside of Dublin are at a geographical disadvantage, and the knock-on effect was that Dublin services were inundated with referrals for children from all over the country.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/health/insulin-pump-access-limited-174483.html#ixzz1eMpF3W00

Coping with Disability

Coping with Disability

I have been confined to a wheelchair for over 30 years and I am deeply concerned about the latest controversial storyline of the hit soap ‘Emmerdale’, which sees twenty something tetraplegia Jackson Walsh kill himself with the help of his mother and gay lover. This to me gives out a very bad impression. I know of several people with similar injuries to those sustained by the ‘Emmerdale’ character and these people are very much getting on with life. People are very resilient with good rehabilitation and family support. Some are involved in Wheelchair Basketball; others are involved in Wheelchair Rugby. My own favourite sport since I resigned from marathon races is Self Defence. I’d be worried if the public was left with the perception that this is how everybody deals with such an injury. Ultimately this story is about Jackson’s personal situation and feelings and not about tetraplegia itself. There’s actually no correlation between the severity of an injury and a person’s psychological response to it. We’re all different psychologically. Sometimes those with more severe injuries will be completely down and depressed. Sometimes a person with partial loss of their legs can become very down. People may feel very down and depressed when they realise what is happening initially but with support and rehabilitation programme their mood improves. The vast majority of people who live with spinal cord injury simply do not envisage suicide as an answer. To some extent I understand where Jackson’s coming from. I can understand someone thinking that there is life out there and it can be very fulfilling.

Yours Sincerely,

Tom Chambers

Disability Campaigner

Newport

Coping with Disability

I have been confined to a wheelchair for over 30 years and I am deeply concerned about the latest controversial storyline of the hit soap ‘Emmerdale’, which sees twenty something tetraplegia Jackson Walsh kill himself with the help of his mother and gay lover. This to me gives out a very bad impression. I know of several people with similar injuries to those sustained by the ‘Emmerdale’ character and these people are very much getting on with life. People are very resilient with good rehabilitation and family support. Some are involved in Wheelchair Basketball; others are involved in Wheelchair Rugby. My own favourite sport since I resigned from marathon races is Self Defence. I’d be worried if the public was left with the perception that this is how everybody deals with such an injury. Ultimately this story is about Jackson’s personal situation and feelings and not about tetraplegia itself. There’s actually no correlation between the severity of an injury and a person’s psychological response to it. We’re all different psychologically. Sometimes those with more severe injuries will be completely down and depressed. Sometimes a person with partial loss of their legs can become very down. People may feel very down and depressed when they realise what is happening initially but with support and rehabilitation programme their mood improves. The vast majority of people who live with spinal cord injury simply do not envisage suicide as an answer. To some extent I understand where Jackson’s coming from. I can understand someone thinking that there is life out there and it can be very fulfilling.

Yours Sincerely,

Tom Chambers

Disability Campaigner

Newport

Questions for Ballina Town Council

Hi Peter,

I have a few questions for you to raise with Kevin at your Wednesday meeting

1. Can some of the money granted to the swimming pool be allocated for a Hydro pool?

2. Are you seriously planning for the old and disabled tourists leaving and coming to Ballina Town

when you are reverting back to cobble stones that is hindrance to not alone with people with

reduced mobility also men and women using the prams?

3. Will half a day be left aside for any member of the Public to meet with the Director of Services

of the Ballina Town Council to discuss issues that affect them?

4. Will Tom Chambers (Access Campaigner from Newport) be consulted on access issues that affect

people with reduced mobility?

5. Will you guarantee that all works be designed in accordance with BS 8300:2001 ‘Code of Practice – Design of buildings

and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people’?

6. Will you refrain from using money meant for disabilities issues on new works?

Looking forward to a reply from your meeting.

Regards,

Thomas Chambers
Access Campaigner
The Billy Ranch
Newport
Mayo

EMAIL: thomaschambers@eircom.net

www.thomaschambers.blogspot.com

086 3552047
098 41545

Disabled people's benefit system needs reform, says minister

View this story on the Guardian | Why am I seeing this version of the page?

Politics | Welfare

Disabled people's benefit system needs reform, says minister

Work and pensions minister Steve Webb accepts reform is necessary for Atos-approved employment support allowance

Daniel Boffey · 17/09/2011 · guardian.co.uk

Read by 13 people including:Remove from timeline

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Work and pensions minister Steve Webb has accepted the state benefit system for disabled people requires change

Controversial assessments of disabled people that have led to many losing their state benefits will be reformed, said Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat work and pensions minister.

He accepted there was genuine anger about how claimants of employment support allowance (ESA) had been treated. The "vast majority" of claimants for ESA, which has replaced incapacity benefit, are deemed fit for work by Atos, the French company which is paid £100m a year to assess claimants.

Yet four out of 10 of those who appeal against the decision by Atos are successful, a process that costs the taxpayer £50m a year. Last month Atos, whose staff assess around 11,000 benefit claimants a week, was savaged by the cross-party work and pensions select committee after it found that many people had "not received the level of service from Atos which they can reasonably expect".

Webb said: "In the past, we accept, that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) folk just went 'bang Atos says no'. We are now taking more control of that." The system of "work-related assessments" which Atos carries out on the government's behalf is currently the subject of an independent, state-funded investigation by Professor Malcolm Harrington.

Webb said he had held discussions with his Tory colleague at the DWP, Chris Grayling, over the future role of Atos in assessments and that the government understood that change was needed. He said: "One of the changes Harrington recommended is that you don't just take what the Atos assessor says and tick the box. You say, 'let's see what the consultant says'. If I need more information I will ask for it."

"I am sure there are brilliant Atos inspectors and very poor ones, it is a big organisation, but if someone hasn't done the assessment properly there is much of a safety valve now to say hang on this assessment says no problem but I have got all these reports from the medics.

"The way Chris put it, is the contribution of the Atos judgment to the decision will be a smaller part. And that has got to help."

On Sunday Lib-Dem delegates at their Birmingham conference endorsed calls for Atos's "tick box" system of medical tests to be replaced by something more accurate and less stressful for those who go through it

The grossest things found in people’s food

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From a dead pickled rat to a one-inch nail – we look at some of the most disgusting items people have found in their food.

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A dead mouse

In 2009, Stephen Forse was making sandwiches for his children from a Hovis ‘Best of Both’ loaf of sliced bread. But something caught his eye - a 4cm-long dead mouse. He said “I noticed a dark coloured object imbedded in the corner of three or four slices…as I looked closer I saw that the object had fur on it”. The Telegraph reported that the bread’s manufacturer Premier Foods immediately apologised for the incident and was fined almost £17,000. More worrying perhaps, for Mr Forse and his family, the mouse’s tail was never found.

Dead pickled rat
Imagine this. You’re picking out some tasty gherkins for a salad when you see a nine-inch long, dead rat suspended in the jar. That’s exactly what happened to Jeanette Reinders in November 2005. She told The Sun she was “disgusted”, adding that “it was a dismembered rat with a horrible long tail”. According to the newspaper, Asda launched an immediate enquiry and compensated Jeanette and her partner with £100 and a Christmas ‘trolley dash’. It’s thought the rat was accidentally collected in amongst vegetables during harvesting.

Wire brush
When Brett Stephens tucked into a Chicken Legend burger at a McDonald’s in Kidderminster in February 2010, he was surprised to find a five-inch wire brush sticking out of it. His mother was quoted in the Daily Mail: “I looked at it and started to pull it out and it kept coming – it was right through the piece of chicken.” McDonald’s responded, offering a refund and a statement claiming they were “very sorry”. The fast food chain also launched an investigation and confirmed that McDonald’s “take the safety and quality of its food very seriously indeed.”

[See also: The surprising gross ingredients included in your food]

Dirty dishcloth
A horrified Maggie Sullivan sliced into a loaf of bread bought at a Tesco supermarket in Chepstow in November 2010, and found something blue that she thought was mould. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a dirty dishcloth that had been accidentally baked into the bread. Maggie told BBC News “I couldn’t believe it when I saw what was lurking inside the loaf”. Tesco released a statement saying they were “very sorry for this extremely rare find” and confirmed that they had rung Maggie to apologise personally.

Black widow spider
In the autumn of 2002, Stephanie Thorneycroft found an unlikely stowaway in a bunch of grapes - a black widow spider, one of the most venomous in the world. It soon emerged that the spiders were used during production of the grapes to fend off insects, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Tesco commented: “we are committed to reducing pesticide use. Before grapes leave the US each box is checked but we apologise for any distress this may have caused”.

Maggots
In March 2011, Leigh Savage claimed that he found at least 20 maggots crawling inside his Big Mac, bought at a McDonald’s in Victoria, Australia. McDonald’s launched an investigation, but according to Australian newspaper the Frankston Standard Leader, the fast-food giant later insisted that they weren’t to blame, saying that insect contamination was “not possible”. The newspaper, now unable to reach Mr Savage, reported that no further action was taken.

A one-inch nail
Rebecca Shorten heated up a Tesco Value macaroni meal for a quick dinner in August 2008 – and unknowingly swallowed a one-inch nail. She said at the time, in a Daily Mail article: “I bit into something hard, then I took another bite and saw a nail in the macaroni.” After an X-ray confirmed she had swallowed the nail, Rebecca remained in hospital while she waited for it to pass through her system. Tesco issued a recall of the product and said that they were carrying out an “urgent and thorough investigation”. But the episode put Rebecca off Tesco ready meals – she vowed never to eat another one again.

A spokesperson from the Food Standards Agency told us that “it is vital that all food businesses follow good food hygiene practice to minimise any potential food safety risks. If people have concerns about any food products they should contact their Local Authority

Foxford Angling Site 15/11/2011.

Foxford Angling Site 15/11/2011.

In Attendance were Tom Chambers (Access campaigner), William Thornton (Assistant Manager, Inland Fisheries Ireland) and Becky (Tom’s PA).

The fishing season is on from 1^st February – 30th September.

Areas we discussed were:

1. There should be signs on the main road and the side road leading to the angling site.

2. The parking sign with the disabled logo should be raised to 2200mm from the floor level

3. There should be dropdown rails for disabled anglers to rest their hands while fishing.

4. There is usually big fishing in this area during the summer period.

5. There should be edging on both side of footpath leading to ramp.

6. Tarmacking the whole car park was discussed and William said he will bring it to the attention of Mayo County Council.

7. William showed me the signs they proposed to erect.

8. A specially adapted boat that will take two wheelchair anglers was discussed, but the biggest problem was trying to get the money.

Proposed Work for AIB bank Westport 28th September 2011

Proposed Work for AIB bank Westport 28^th September 2011

CAR PARK

Provide designated parking bays as close as possible to side entrance with a sign identifying the bays. 2200mm from ground level (sign blue background, white text)

Provide a two way mirror for traffic leaving and entering the park

Gulliers needs attention

Provide a level surface through the cobble stones

Provide a canopy not less than 2200mm above ground level at the ATM Machine

Self-service banking – provide a drop down shelf

Provide a drop down shelf for people with reduced mobility to do their transactions and provide loop insulation with appropriate signs that can be seen when you come in the door

Lift – the lift should have a half way mirror opposite the entry door and rails right around at a high of 900mm from floor level.

Controls should be 500mm from internal corners with visual and tactile induction

Wheelchair toilet upstairs – should have the following

1. Automatic door

2. Two hooks

3. Sink as close as possible to the toilet for washing hands

4. Provide a panic cord on the transfer side approximately 12inches from floor level

5. Provide a sensor bin

6. Identify all the rails (blue preferably)

7. All columns should be identified

Glass upstairs needs to be blackened out

Direction signs for people progressing further into the building to be supported by tactile information such as raised print map, Braille information.

If you require any more information feel free to contact me.

Yours Sincerely.

Thomas Chambers
Access Campaigner
The Billy Ranch
Newport
Mayo

www.thomaschambers.blogspot.com

086 3552047
098 41545

VISIT TO KNOCK AIRPORT

VISIT TO KNOCK AIRPORT

Meeting with Myself, Bryana Hindle, Catherine O’Boyle and Becky (Tom’s PA) on the 16^th June 2011

Designated Toilet

The taps in the toilet should be more users friendly

There should be hot and cold signs on top of taps

The temperature of running should be regulated at considerate degrees

The panic cord should be placed where transfer takes place

Appropriate lock on the door

Provide kick panel (dimension) from the floor

The rails should be identified with blue or contrast colour

Put stripes on the iron bars

Ensure proper colour and specification for tactile

Customer Service Help Point Provide instructions for use Provide tapes on sides

Remove tiles toward the ramp

Provide extra down rail by the rail through the ramp

Ensure designated bays are monitored regularly to ensure only badge holders use them

Proper dimension on taps, mirror, shelf, panic cord, kick panels to be provided

THE MIRACLES IN THE CAR PARK

THE MIRACLES IN THE CAR PARK

There are, as they say, patron saints and patron saints. Some famous, some not so much; some outstanding in they’re chosen departments, monopolists of miraculous favours.

St. Anthony for things lost; St. Jude for hopeless cases; St. Blaise for the sore throat; St. Christopher for the traveller-we each of us have our own favourite.

But surely, if there is one who has been ignored, neglected and unknown (as far as I am aware) patron saint of car parks. His identify may be a secret, but his works are the essence of heavenly intervention.

Have you not noticed, those past few weeks, the recurrent miracles played out in the public car parks of town and city? Disabled drivers (for what else can they be) gently manoeuvre their vehicles into the only unoccupied spaces in town, those marked with the wheelchair logo. Minutes later, they can be seen heading off to the shops, agile and able-bodied and fleet of foot, just like you or me, their crutches and Zimmer frames thrown to one side (or somewhere), their wheelchairs no longer needed.

But where is their gratitude? Is there a leper among them to come back and say thanks? You will scan the Thanksgiving small ads all you like, but you will see no mention of thanks to that mild and good saint who has restored their crippled bodies to full and instant health.

The good saint is long used to such ingratitude, and all the better for it. If there is a complaint, it is his blatant discrimination in the matter of which he decides to bestow his great favours on. Invariably, the occupants of the miracle wheelchair spaces are those bearings the distinctive yellow number plates of Northern Ireland or British motorists.

But then it would be churlish to begrudge a visitor the miraculous cure to be found south of the Border. Think of the benefit which-properly marketed-the car-parking miracles would be to the tourist trade.

Respectfully yours,

…………………..

Tom Chambers

“The Billy Ranch”

Knocknageeha

Newport

Co. Mayo

THE MIRACLES IN THE CAR PARK

There are, as they say, patron saints and patron saints. Some famous, some not so much; some outstanding in they’re chosen departments, monopolists of miraculous favours.

St. Anthony for things lost; St. Jude for hopeless cases; St. Blaise for the sore throat; St. Christopher for the traveller-we each of us have our own favourite.

But surely, if there is one who has been ignored, neglected and unknown (as far as I am aware) patron saint of car parks. His identify may be a secret, but his works are the essence of heavenly intervention.

Have you not noticed, those past few weeks, the recurrent miracles played out in the public car parks of town and city? Disabled drivers (for what else can they be) gently manoeuvre their vehicles into the only unoccupied spaces in town, those marked with the wheelchair logo. Minutes later, they can be seen heading off to the shops, agile and able-bodied and fleet of foot, just like you or me, their crutches and Zimmer frames thrown to one side (or somewhere), their wheelchairs no longer needed.

But where is their gratitude? Is there a leper among them to come back and say thanks? You will scan the Thanksgiving small ads all you like, but you will see no mention of thanks to that mild and good saint who has restored their crippled bodies to full and instant health.

The good saint is long used to such ingratitude, and all the better for it. If there is a complaint, it is his blatant discrimination in the matter of which he decides to bestow his great favours on. Invariably, the occupants of the miracle wheelchair spaces are those bearings the distinctive yellow number plates of Northern Ireland or British motorists.

But then it would be churlish to begrudge a visitor the miraculous cure to be found south of the Border. Think of the benefit which-properly marketed-the car-parking miracles would be to the tourist trade.

Respectfully yours,

…………………..

Tom Chambers

“The Billy Ranch”

Knocknageeha

Newport

Co. Mayo

Making Monaghan accessible

A Making Monaghan accessible

Meeting with access committee in Monaghan Town on the 26^th August 2011 with SHANE McLANKEN, BRANDY BRIALLY, JOHNNY, DAVE MAXWELL

No controls or signs on the zebra crossing

Taxi stands should be widened out to accommodate wheelchair users as passengers

The rails in the city should be stripped so that visually impaired people would not run into it

At all buildings people with disability should be able to go in through the same door with abled body people (Hotel)

Upgrading the designated bays, more to be put in at appropriate dimensions with appropriate signs displayed

The bins should be highlighted appropriately for the visually impaired

Put in two more pedestrian crossing

Issues about non badge holders using the designated bays

Educating people about proper use of disability facilities

Designated bays should be left as much as possible for wheelchair users

Tom said they should try and reinforce money for disability issues in the budget

TOM WAGES WAR FOR IRELAND’S DISABLED

Thomas Chambers is a disability campaigner from Newport who will be in the public eye a lot more over the coming years. Tom has been a committed and dedicated campaigner for awareness, facilities and compliance with disability requirements for many years. Tom is now stepping up his work as he campaigns on not just a local level but country-wide and nationally on disability issues and especially on compliance with the Barcelona Declaration to which all local government in Mayo has signed up to in recent years.

While the declaration itself is approaching ten years of age Tom is stepping up his campaign to have local authorities such as Mayo County Council and Westport County Council meet their obligations under their commitment to the ideals of the Barcelona Convention on the rights of the disabled.

Tom is recently returned from Dublin where he joined protests over the controversial Disability Act which proved so unpopular with the disabled and the groups representing disabilities. Tom has been campaigning to ensure the bill keeps the rights of the disabled to the fore.

So upset with the Bill Tom has also written to the President requesting her to test the constitutionality of the Bill before signing it into law. Tom says he has five major concerns with the Bill. Tom explains that “there must be a clear and unequivocal right to an assessment of need, which must not be resource-dependent. That the services identified in the assessment of need for an individual must be provided within a reasonable and agreed time frame.” According to Tom “the Bill must provide for clear protection of disability-specific resources. The provisions regarding Sectorial Plans must take account of the wider needs of people with disabilities. Each government department with relevant services must provide a Sectorial Plan and finally the Bill must provide for a clear statutory duty on all government departments and public bodies to include people with disabilities in their plans with appropriate monitoring and accountability.”

Tom says that the bill “means that the disabled have to go through too much red tape to get things they are entitled to. It is making it harder for us to get our rights. The Bill seems to be only putting in place another layer of bureaucracy instead of putting money into actual areas that need work such as pavements, hand-rails, parking spaces, tactile surfaces that are the kind of things that make life easier.”

Tom feels that a 10 year wait to have public buildings accessible is unacceptable to the disabled. Trains should be accessible by 2008 but it will be another 15 years before all but transport will be ready. That is too long.”

Tom also has an issue with the Taoiseach’s definition of the disabled which Tom considers to be if you can work you are not disabled. Minister Frank Fahy further elaborated that a disability “substantial restriction in the capacity of a person to carry on a profession, business or occupation. Tom says a lot of employers do not employ the disabled because money has to be spent making the workplace more accessible and suitable for those disabled employees.

Tom says there is “bitterness in the disabled community over the way the Disability Bill has been drawn up” and he points out that the group especially set up to work with the government, the Disability Legislation Consultative Group, in drawing up the Bill walked out as it was so unhappy with the Bill yet the government pressed on with the law making regardless.”

The only good thing to be coming out of the Bill, Tom feels, is the building certificate requirement on the builder that all new buildings will comply with the disability access.

Over the next year or so Tom will be lobbying authorities such as Westport Town Council to deliver on their undertakings under the Barcelona Declaration. Tom is dismayed that local authorities could find themselves receiving fines for not complying with Minster O’Cuiv’s new dictates concerning the use of Irish but if they don’t comply with disability law there is little or nothing done unless someone has the time and money to take them to court. Tom says “In the UK the situation is very different, local authorities and places that provide disabled parking can be fined if they let able-bodied motorists abuse the car parking spaces. It is a requirement under law that disabled bays are monitored and if the monitoring is not up to scratch a local authority facing a fine and a day in court. This has led to increased awareness of the issue in the UK and the shops like Tesco, Aldi and the like hold competitions to see who supplies the best services to the disabled. Compare that with the way things are over here.”

On the local level Tom is looking at ways to improve monitoring of parking spaces as well as the improvement of existing spaces in places Westport “as the number of parking bays for the disabled has exploded in the last year Tom feels that it is a case of quantity and not quality as some of the bays have proven themselves completely unacceptable to disabled drivers and passengers be they in wheelchairs, waling with an aid or suffer sight or hearing problems.”

Tom also takes issue with the car parking charges and toilets pointing out that “under existing guidelines and legislation those with a disabled badge are not required to pay for parking in a disabled bay but no provision for this service has been made. Tom finds the electronic toilets, like those in Westport, which are so common nowadays, are not very disabled friendly and people with disabilities like Tom would not be able to use these toilets without some sort of assistance. “No provision has been made to accommodate the disabled who are supposed to be able to use such a facility.”

It is issues like these that Tom will be pressing for action on with the three town councils and with Mayo County Council.

Tom says he welcomes the setting up of committees such as Westport’s Barcelona Committee as he feels they are the way forward. Tom has in the past sat on similar committees to great success and he intends to step up the campaign for compliance with Barcelona Committee and continue his work lobbying for disabled persons’ rights locally and nationally.

I hope all is well with you.

To Tom Chambers

Dear Thomas,

I hope all is well with you.

Firstly let me apologise for the fact that you felt that you did not receive value for money in the facilities we offered at the hotel.

I refer to your recent stay at the South Court Hotel in Limerick. I have checked back over the records and yes my colleague Christina did email confirming that a wheelchair accessible bedroom would be allocated to you, she blocked this room on the second floor at that time, but the guest who was staying in this particular room extended the number of nights in the hotel, so a decision was made on the Friday to allocate you a room on the ground floor as they are more spacious as our other wheelchair accessible rooms were also in use last weekend.

In relation to your comments regarding the lack of accessibility for wheelchair users in the hotel, I have sent a copy of your email on to my directors as this should influence decisions that will be made for bedrooms upgrading in the capital expenditure budget which is currently being under review.

If you decide to return to Limerick in the future, please email or contact me directly and I will personally ensure you are allocated a room that should meet your requirements.

Kind Regards,

Dermot Kelly

General Manager

South Court Hotel

Adare Road,

Limerick.

T: +353 61 487487

M: +353 87 6393392

F: +353 61 487499

E: dermot.kelly@southcourthotel.com

W: www.southcourthotel.com

Gibson Hotel

GIBSON HOTEL in the Point Village, Dublin

Walkabout Audit carried out on Tuesday 18^th of October 2011

In attendance were Tom Chambers, Nina Byrne (CIL Dublin), Annette O’Keeffe and Becky (Tom’s PA).

Here are recommendations to make the hotel as accessible as possible for people with reduced mobility. As no Photos were taken could not do a proper presentation.

Reception area

1. Provide a wheelchair.

2. Provide a counter loop insulation

3. Seat for people with reduced mobility

4. Information on where refuge points are.

5. Provide a Universal accessible phone booth.

6. Provide a defibulator easy accessible for use.

7. Provide a disabled friendly sign

8. Ask people's ability/mobility in case of fire

9. The reception area of a floor should be obvious from the point of access. The reception desk should be placed conspicuously to permit easy location. The desk should be suitable for use from both sides at height of 1050mm for people standing and 750mm for people sitting down or using a wheelchair. Colour contrast should be used to indicate different area. Light sources, natural or artificial, should not be sighted behind the receptionist. This causes silhouetting, which make visual communication and lip reading impossible for people with impaired vision or hearing respectively. Ensure any glazed screens, if required, do not inhabit visual communications.

Bedroom

Beds to be at approximately 18 inches from floor level with a gap of 12 inches for wheelchair pedals or hoist.

Provide an alarm system close to bed in case of emergency as phones can be easily knocked off shelf in emergency or panic.

Provide 750mm clear under table in room

Ensure wheelchair user can open/close window in room

Ensure facilities for making cup of tea/coffee are universal accessible

Ensure storage facilities are made universally accessible

Provide a vibrator type system under mattress for people with hard hearing in case of a fire

Independent Use Bedroom

One guest bedroom/bathroom in every 15 guest bedrooms should be suitable in size, layout and facilities for independent use by a wheelchair user. The space within the bedroom should incorporate a 900mm access zone around the bed and two 1800mm diameter turning circles, one adjacent to the bedside. A clear space of 300mm height is required under the bed to allow space for wheelchair footrests and hoist legs.

Sufficient storage space should be provided for equipment, e.g. wheelchairs, shower chairs, walkers, etc.

Shower/Bathroom Provision

The shower/bathroom dimensions in independent use bedrooms should be a minimum of 2500mm x 2500mm with a level deck shower or 2700mm x 3000mm with a bath tub.

The size of the shower/bathroom in an assisted use bedroom should be 2700mm x

3500mm. There should be a tracking ceiling hoist fitted, giving access from the bedroom into the bathroom and over the toilet bowl and bath/shower. This larger size shower/bathroom will also allow a 2300mm turning circle for an attendant-operated mobile hoist if that is the guest’s preference.

A 150mm clear gap is required under the bath tub to accommodate the hoist legs.

Toilet

The cubicle door should have a horizontal pull handle, 400mm long and 35mm diameter, fixed 1000mm above the floor level. This will assist closure of the door in the confirmed space. Provide coat hooks at both 1200mm and 1700mm over floor level, so as to suit ambulant people and wheelchair users. A clear space of 750mm is required between the pan and the adjacent wall to position a wheelchair beside the WC. Ensure this dimension is not reduced by obstructions such as skirting boards, pipes or radiators. This dimension is of critical importance for transfer purposes and is frequently compromised in practice, rendering the cubicle unusable by the people it is intended to accommodate. Similarly, cisterns should never be boxed in, as this also reduces the transfer space significantly.

The front of the WC pan should be 750mm from the back wall to allow a wheelchair user to transfer from a position forward to the wheels. If the pan is not far enough forward from the wall, the transfer will have to be made over the wheel, with consequent risk of injury. It is vital that this dimension is not reduced by pipes or any other obstruction in front of or on the rear wall. The centre line of the pan should be 450-500mm from the side wall of the toilet. This permits use of the horizontal grab rail for lateral transfer and achieves the correct distance in relation to the wash basin.

Grab rails should be provided on the rear and side walls of the toilet. On the rear wall, provide a folding horizontal grab rail and a vertical grab rail, 400mm and 500mm respectively from the centreline of WC. Both should start 700mm over floor level. On the side wall, provide two 600mm long grab rails. One should be horizontal, 700mm over floor level, starting 200mm from the rear wall. The second should be vertical, starting 800mm above floor level, and 200mm from the leading edge of the WC pan. The combination of these grab rails will give support and stability to people transferring from a wheelchair to the WC and to those standing to dress themselves or use the basin. All grab rails should be 35mm diameter and extend 600mm. secure fixings are essential to support the full body weight of a wheelchair user.

The wash hand basin should be 250mm from the leading edge of the WC. The tap should be on the side away from the WC or in the middle. This will ensure that the tap and sink are usable while sitting on the WC. Basin height should be 800mm from floor to rim. Basin dimension should be 450 x 300mm approximately. Care is needed in siting larger basins, as they may intrude on the circulation space around the WC pan. Provide a plug that is easy to use. Provide a single mixer tap with lever operation for ease of use. Automatic infra-red and push-button taps may also be considered, although some confusion will be experienced until these are more commonly found. Soap dispensers should have pull levers to dispense the soap, rather than push buttons.

Hand dryers, whether hand towels or hot air dryers, should be easy to use and reach while sitting on the WC pan. Site hand dryers with the underside 1100mm over floor level and 600mm from internal corners. To minimise obstruction, use a slim line type, to project maximum 130mm from the wall.

The mirror over the sink should start 900-1000mm above floor level and finish 1600-1800mm above floor level.

A shelf is useful. It should be 750-1000mm floor level, sited clear of manoeuvring space, such as in the corner beside the door.

Provide a sealed waste container located at the side of the basin away from the WC.

Provide an alarm to summon help. Install the alarm so that it can be used in the area where transfer from wheelchair to toilet takes place.

Provide sensor bins in toilets.

An automatic door will be advisable in toilets

Provide a logo with a blue background and white text located on toilet door frame approximately 2200mm high so that toilet can be identified from a distance.

Emergency Alarms

Emergency cords should be provided in accessible bathrooms and should be easily distinguishable, with a bold triangle/bell/ball attached to a red pull-cord. It is recommended that two red bangles be sited on the cord, one set at the bottom of the cord and the other at 800–1000mm above floor level.

The emergency cord should be situated so that it can be reached from the WC bowl and from the floor. The cord should extend 100mm from finished floor level. A clearly marked reset button should be reachable from the WC bowl and from a seated position in a wheelchair. Cords must have a connection to a security desk or information point. Alarms should have a visual and auditory alert system that shows the alarm has been activated.

Considerations should be given to the location of the activated alarm (outside the guest room) to ensure that it can be seen and heard by the people who will provide the assistance.

Evacuation plan

People with mobility impairments can be greatly affected during emergency evacuations. They may find it difficult to move to another area of their floor when the evacuation happens. This might be due to their personal abilities, such as their speed of walking when using crutches, or of their age. It might be due to the situation around them. Perhaps fire doors that are normally held open will close during an emergency. Many lifts are not designed to be used in emergencies. There is often a notice saying “Do not use the lift in an emergency beside the lift. Wheelchair users or other people with mobility impairments who normally use the lift may have to use evacuation chairs (didn’t see one on floor I stayed in) or other devices to get down to ground level during an evacuation. People with some heart conditions, asthma or other breathing difficulties may have severe difficulties in moving up or down stairs during evacuations.

Lifts

The bottom half of the glass in the lift needs to be defrosted as wheelchair users can often be scared when using the lifts.

Columns should be identified to prevent visually impaired from walking into them.

Wayfinding

Wayfinding in the hotel is very poor; it needs to be addressed for people coming into the hotel and tourists as adequate signage reduces the needs for visitors to ask for directions.

It is particularly important for people with hearing and communication impairments.

Hope this will go a bit way in making your hotel as accessible as possible and if you need any further information feel free to contact me.

Your sincerely

Thomas Chambers
Access Campaigner
The Billy Ranch
Newport
Mayo

EMAIL: thomaschambers@eircom.net

www.thomaschambers.blogspot.com

086 3552047
098 41545