Just had an appointment at the Mater hospital Belfast with my father who is 80 with reduced mobility and heart failure.
These are the barriers we faced:
Disabled parking CLOSED. Drop off only. If he had been driving himself he couldn’t have reached his appointment. No prior warning that disabled car park was closed.
Map on Belfast Trust website naming the buildings is WRONG. Lots of walking done unnecessarily. Dad out of breath, needing frequent rests, stress levels rising. He now feels like he’s a burden.
I run round the grounds while he rests to find the correct building.
Look on his appointment letter to see exactly where we have to go. Level 2 apparently. Get in lift and press 2 button. Get out to be faced with 2 different signs that state that we are now on level 2 or level 1 - take your pick???
Appointment letter says Ophthalmic Dept. After reading all signs there is no such department on floor 2 (or is it floor 1? Turns out the letter should have said outpatients department.
When we found the correct place the staff were wonderful, waiting time was short and service very good.
Sort it out! The situation as it stands is robbing our older generation of their independence and confidence.
"Older person accessing medical appointment"
About: Outpatients Services / Ophthalmology Outpatients Outpatients Services Ophthalmology Outpatients BT14 6AB
Posted by Eliza1972 (as ),
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