P-05-914 Equal Access to Health Care for the Disabled, Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 26.06.21

I am heartened to see Swansea Bay's response to my petition. I have only ever asked that moving forward, hoists and wide adjustable treatment beds are available when someone living with severe mobility issues, needs assessment of their physical condition or treatment. 

Obviously these facilities wouldn't need to be kept just for disabled people and can be used for everyone. It's just important that they are available when disabled people need them. 

We know we are in the minority but things can go wrong very quickly for us, because we often can't feel when things are going wrong in our bodies, due to paralysis and this has been my experience.

Arguably it's more important for us to be assessed more thoroughly than physically-typical people, so the equipment for us needs to be on site where ever possible, for that to easily take place. 

I hope that the other Health Boards across Wales will soon be as positive about this provision as Swansea Bay have been and that one day, the whole of the UK, can make these provisions available for severely disabled people. 

Vaughan Gething has mentioned the baratric beds more than the hoists, but both are necessary. I need a wide treatment bed because I can't roll easily, not because I'm over-weight and most paralysed people like me, would need the width of treatment bed too, whether over weight or not. We can't flip over on a narrow bed, and it's dangerous for us to try. I have been refused treatment on a narrow bed as a result of this problem. Hoists help us to transfer safely, so are a crucial part of a safe examination. 

I hope that the government continues to push for all GP surgeries to have access to at least one adjustable treatment bed and hoist. Lack of this provision in my local surgery has cost the NHS dearly as I ended up having 2 costly surgeries and am about to have another because my wounds have not healed in 4 years from that original cancer surgery. If I'd been adequately examined when I presented with continual urine infections four years ago. If the treatment bed there had been adjustable, if they'd have had a hoist, it would have saved the NHS thousands. 

Please keep pushing for this, it will save lives and money. 

Yours sincerely,