Latest news with #wheelchair
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Disabled lifts at Leatherhead Station 'too small' for wheelchair
A woman has claimed new accessibility lifts installed at a Surrey train station are too small for her an event marking their official opening, wheelchair-user Vikki Walton-Cole told BBC Radio Surrey the lifts at Leatherhead Station – which formed part of a £6.2m investment – were "very uncomfortable".The co-chair of the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People said the lifts needed to have a bigger entrance and a longer and wider internal platform, as it was "virtually impossible" to fit luggage or another person in the lift with McAuliffe, Network Rail's Sussex and Surrey route director, said she was sorry to hear there were concerns about the new lifts. "Whilst they are fully compliant with national standards, we fully appreciate the frustrations raised," she said. Ms McAuliffe added that when installing lifts at old, historic stations, limited space meant not every wheelchair or mobility scooter would fit as comfortably as others. Ms McAuliffe said Network Rail was looking to make the rail network "more accessible" for all passengers, including families with buggies, wheelchair users and people who did not feel confident using the new lifts and footbridge, which provide step-free access to each platform, were unveiled on Friday, following work that began in January station, served by Southern and South Western Railway, previously had no lift & Ewell MP Helen Maguire said the improvements would make a "massive difference for so many individuals who have found it difficult to use the station". The Liberal Democrat said there were a number of constraints on Network Rail, such as finance and space, but added that the correct lifts for everyone should be installed where possible.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Essex wheelchair user's Suffolk to Cornwall challenge kicks off
A wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis (MS) said he never believed he would be able to push himself across the country as he begun a coast-to-coast Parker, 49, from Saffron Walden, Essex, was diagnosed with MS in 2009 and started using a wheelchair in 2023 when he struggled to use his wanted to "do some good" for both himself and charity, and came up with the idea to travel in his wheelchair from Ness Point in Lowestoft, Suffolk, to Land's End in began his journey on Sunday first travelling to Diss, Norfolk, supported by his partner Louise Hayes travelling in a car behind him. Mr Parker said while he had been diagnosed in 2009, he experienced symptoms in the felt his body was "slowly shutting down" and "things were getting harder to do".MS is a condition where the immune system attacks cells in the brain and spinal cord, affecting how people move, think and it cannot be cured, treatments can manage it. "Because it's neurological, the messages aren't getting from my brain to where they need to get to," Mr Parker explained."It affects my ability to see sometimes, my balance, I've got numbness in my hands and feet constantly, I've got pains shooting through my body."While working as a school teacher he said he could hearing people describing him as "drunk" around the corridors as he struggled to then struggled to accept he needed a wheelchair, but said "it has opened up my life". Mr Parker said he had "quite flippantly" decided to embark on the challenge and raise money for charities Andy's Man Club and No Child Without."Everybody goes from top to bottom or bottom to top, and I thought I'll go from east to west," he said of his challenge."I never in my wildest imagination thought I was going to be thinking about crossing the country."On Monday Mr Parker travelled from Diss to Newmarket and expected to complete the challenge on 8 August. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
A family hired a contractor to repair the driveway for their special needs child. They say the repairs quickly faltered.
A local family says they're out thousands of dollars after hiring a contractor to repair their driveway and build a wheelchair-accessible ramp for their special needs son. A new path meant to include Devin Roberts now leaves him behind, stuck watching from above. "The whole project is disappointing," said Casey Roberts, Devin's mother. "Obviously, with limited mobility, you have limited options where you can go, and we wanted to even go to family gatherings we were going to have in the backyard," Devin's father, Shawn Roberts, said. Devin has special needs. He's in a wheelchair and can't get around without help from his parents or brother, Nick, but that doesn't stop them from making sure he's always part of the world around him. "We started to plan for this 11 years ago after we had the patio and a front walk done," said Shawn. Finally, this year, the Roberts came up with enough money to get it done. It cost an estimated $37,000 to repair the driveway and build a wheelchair ramp to the backyard. They hired AB Concrete and Excavating to get the job done. Work began June 2, with the Roberts paying half of the total cost up front. "So, a significant investment, but we wanted to do it for our family," said Shawn. Bah: How does it feel knowing this is what you've been left with? Casey: It's disheartening. The Roberts say the project quickly went downhill. "This is way steeper than it's supposed to be. It's also too narrow, and there's also no ramp," Shawn explained. "Really, from the beginning, it didn't start off well, and it didn't end well." An industry expert met with KDKA-TV at the Roberts household to explain what, if anything, is wrong with the work that was done. "This part here you can tell was poured hot," said Brian Tomasits, as he described the errors he saw at the house. Tomasits owns Tomasits Landscaping, working in the field for over 30 years, and he even built the walkway to the Roberts' home and patio 11 years ago. "It's obviously a bad job, bad installation by the contractor," he said. Tomasits said the driveway and backyard walkway are already falling apart. "This is just two concrete trucks poured up against each other," Tomasits explained. Tomasits agrees that the path to the backyard is not wide enough for a wheelchair and is also way too steep. All told, the Roberts wrote three different checks to AB Concrete and Excavating during the project's construction, which was only expected to last three days. Those checks totaled $34,250, short $2,750 of the balance owed. Shawn said he was going to pay the rest until he saw the quality of the work and asked them to stop. "I just wish, if we would have known when he started it was going to end up this way, we wouldn't have had him start," explained Casey. "It was supposed to be a two-to-three-day job that turned into a month," Shawn added. On July 7, Shawn sent an email to the owner of AB Concrete and Excavating asking them to address the issues. On July 15, the owner responded, admitting there were inconsistencies in the finish, but said it was only because he wasn't allowed to complete the job. "We've tried over and over to get a resolution, and each time, his proposed solution is not what he delivers as a solution," Shawn said. "Absolutely, I think that would be the fair thing to do," said Shawn when asked if the family wanted their money back. KDKA-TV reached out to the owner of AB Concrete and Excavating. After multiple attempts to contact the owner, when asked if he was willing to meet and discuss the issues presented by the Roberts family or issue a refund, the owner claimed that he was still owed money for the job. "I believe [the question of a refund] is for Shawn Roberts and I to discuss or our attorneys to discuss," the owner said when contacted by KDKA-TV. When asked how much it would take to make more repairs to the home following the job, Tomasits said it would be between $50,000 and $60,000. With the nearly $40,000 the Roberts have already spent, that would leave them at nearly $100,000 all in. "Any money we have to pay additional out of pocket, that's less time or money that we have to save for Nicholas' education or Devin's future." A high price to pay, both literally and figuratively, for quality time as a family.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Disability: ‘I just want to get home to my family,' says wheelchair user
Katie Trodler was due to fly home from Hamburg, Germany, when the assistance staff failed to turn up. The plane was delayed for an hour while they waited, with the pilot telling the mum-of-one he would "physically carry" her on to the plane if the problem did not get fixed. As a wheelchair user she said it was an "embarrassing" experience, but according to her and others is not a unique one."I'm not choosing this situation. I'm not a passenger that's kicked off. I'm not drunk and disorderly. I just want to travel like everyone else on the plane and get home to see my kid and husband," said Katie, from Holywell, Flintshire. According to Welsh Paralympic gold medallist David Smith, the way people with a disability get on and off a plane, and the problems they experience, "hasn't changed in the last 20 years". The Civil Aviation Authority, the UK's aviation and aerospace regulator, said investment from airports and airlines had resulted in "significant improvements" for disabled passengers and those with reduced mobility, but admitted there was "much more" to week former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson published a set of recommendations after leading a UK government-commissioned review looking at how airline and airport staff support disabled Rights UK has called for urgent action, and said disabled people have been made to feel like "second-class citizens". Katie has been a wheelchair user most of her life after a cancerous tumour damaged her spine when she was 10 months became a regular in the skies 15 years ago when she started a long-distance relationship and now frequently flies for the most part the flying process was "smooth", she said, but when Covid hit, the 37-year-old noticed a difference in the service."Staffing levels are much lower. When I flew from Hamburg the assistance didn't turn up and the plane got delayed by an hour," Katie said. "It was so embarrassing because everyone on the plane knew why their flight was delayed."The mother-of-one said she often felt like a burden when flying and that staff and passengers are not happy when there is a delay. "I think it adds an extra layer. It's already stressful worrying if your chair is going to be in one piece when you arrive and on top of that you feel like they hate you as a passenger."Katie added she has needed to "argue" her case to use her personal wheelchair when checking in at airports, as staff had previously insisted she use a porters chair without the correct support which had to be pushed by someone said: "Where's the dignity? Where's the autonomy?" Karen Beattie, 64, had a motorbike accident in 1994 leaving her with a spinal many years she did not fly after hearing about the "hassle" of getting on and off a plane and the worry of equipment being now tries to get abroad at least once a year, but dreads flying because she does not know what assistance she will receive from the airport and from Prestatyn, Denbighshire, said to get on to a plane she needs to use an aisle chair rather than her own manual chair, with staff helping by lifting under her arms and legs."They didn't work together and didn't lift me high enough causing the aisle chair to fall over," she said, recalling one experience. "They had to try and put me back on my chair and it was then that I was nearly dropped. I was concerned that I would have bruises and even a pressure sore."Another time, Karen said she was left "mortified" when a pilot blamed loading her wheelchair as the reason for a delayed take off. "You're just hoping that the ground could open up and swallow you because you become the spectacle, you become the entertainment before the fight takes off."I complain to the airport every year but there hasn't been any improvements," she said. Paralympic gold medallist David Smith said the process for him to get on to a plane was "quite soul-destroying" and had not changed in the last 20 years."I don't think we've made any progress," said David, from Swansea, who has cerebral palsy."I find a lot of the assistance staff aren't suitable for the job. People who can't help with moving and handling where their job is to literally lift me from one point to another."Recently, David said he had noticed more care taken by the ground staff when handling his 36-year-old said: "I think there's less damage nowadays than there used to be back in the day. So that's good."David added he understood some logistical problems cannot be helped, but said employing the right staff and providing the correct training could prevent bad experiences for future flyers with a the findings led by Baroness Grey-Thompson, last week's review said airline and airport staff were receiving "inconsistent" training, providing 19 recommendations, including disability awareness training being rolled out for all aviation roles, such as crew, ground services and hospitality. A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said it "regularly" set standards on accessibility at the UK's main airports and reported on how these are met, resulting in "significant improvements" for disabled passengers."We strongly believe that everyone should have access to air travel and expect all passengers from the UK to be able to enjoy the best possible flight," they authority acknowledged "there is still much more to do" following Baroness Grey-Thompson's report, adding: "We continue to hold airlines to account in meeting their obligations to disabled and less mobile passengers across all parts of their journey."Kamran Mallick, CEO of Disability Rights UK, said: "Flying is not a luxury. It's a fundamental freedom that should be accessible to everyone. For too many disabled people air travel is marked by stress, anxiety, indignity and exclusion. "Airlines, airports and regulators must recognise that disabled people have the right to fly with the same independence, safety and dignity as everyone else. Anything less is unacceptable."
BBC News
24-07-2025
- BBC News
Glasgow carer put under curfew after disabled woman's escalator fall
A carer has been electronically tagged after a disabled woman she was looking after fell down an escalator and later died in hospital. Debbie McWhannell, 33, pushed 71-year-old Catherine Muir's wheelchair onto the escalator at Easterhouse Shopping Centre in July 2023 because the lift was out of order but lost control and it fell down. Ms Muir, who was non-verbal and had various medical conditions, suffered a broken jaw. She died in hospital 11 days later having contracted from Glasgow, ignored a sign that warned against putting wheelchairs on an escalator. She pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Shona Gilroy tagged McWhannell for six months, keeping her indoors between 20:00 and 09:00 as an "alternative to custody". McWhannell, a supported living assistant for Inclusion Scotland, had initially taken Ms Muir, who was prone to dizziness, up an escalator at the shopping they descended, McWhannell held onto the wheelchair with one Kristina Reilly said: "When the wheelchair with Catherine [Muir] strapped in began to descend, McWhannell lost her grip completely and the wheelchair tumbled to the bottom."Ms Muir, from Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, suffered a head injury and a fractured left jaw which required surgery, including restoring displaced bones using rods and was placed in the high dependency unit but contracted pneumonia and died 11 days later. 'Horrible mistake' Catherine's brother Donald and sister Janet said they did not want McWhannell to be jailed. "She made a horrible mistake and she will have to live with that for the rest of her days - it should never have happened," they said. "It was a sad loss - she lived 72 years and to die that way is just tragic. It's been a disaster."The family said they hoped the incident would raise awareness about escalators. They added: "I can't imagine what was in her head - Catherine was not a wee lightweight and had a bulky wheelchair."To even attempt to go down an escalator - I can't imagine why, it's shocking." McWhannell was suspended from her job pending an McCarthy, defending, said: "She deeply regrets her involvement in this matter and that it took place."Sheriff Gilroy described it as an "utterly tragic" said: "This was an isolated incident caused by a dreadful decision made by an otherwise law abiding member of society."A prison sentence of up to 26 weeks would not help rehabilitation and I am persuaded there is an alternative to custody."
