18 June 2014

There are some things that should be taken for granted; access for all to NHS events should be taken for granted. Or so I thought! (silly naive man!)

When I was privileged to hear, inter alia, Sir Bert Massey speak at the LSE Human Rights anniversary debate, there was no problem with access (he was the chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, and wheelchair-bound). 

I'm used to planning ahead anywhere I want to go. I know that most of the tube network is not accessible; it's been built for 150 years, so that's no surprise. 

I didn't expect that an event organised by the NHS would be held in a building that had no access beyond the ground floor.  It wasn't anybody's fault, although everybody apologised.  

So there I was, ready to give a short address and take part in a plenary session, and I sat in the coffee area, on the ground floor. Some people came down and heard me speak, just before they had lunch, but that was all. 

I didn't feel angry. I didn't feel frustrated. I did feel very sorry for the organisers. Really, in the 21st century, we shouldn't have these sort of problems, but we do. It seems that advance notice needs to be given. That makes me sad.