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A North Derbyshire man says Chesterfield Royal Hospital continually discriminates against disabled people – and he’s just settled two lawsuits against them for it, winning payouts of around £20,000.
Daniel Birch from Chesterfield is registered blind, and has a condition that makes loud noises distressing to hear. He says the hospital repeatedly fails to make the ‘reasonable adjustments’ set out in the law, when dealing with him.
The hospital trust says its approach is “to listen to patients and their individual needs and clinical care requirements”.
Mr Birch told us he has a condition called hyperacusis, “developed through years of having to rely more on my hearing because I can’t rely on my sight.
“And over time my hearing has gotten so sensitive that even small sounds that normally a person wouldn’t be bothered by can cause me physical pain.”
Mr Birch says the main problems happen at the Calow hospital’s emergency department. He has a ‘care plan’ so that theoretically, when he presents himself at the reception desk, staff can efficiently find out how to help him. But he says the plan is never followed, and a member of staff has told him they’re too busy to do so.
On a visit supporting his husband in 2023, Mr Birch says he asked for a quiet room. “Their website at the time specifically advertised that their new A&E department had an area for people with neurodivergences and sensory issues,” he explains, “so I asked for access to that quiet room and the first response that I got was, ‘You’re not even the patient, so why does it matter?’ Which wasn’t particularly pleasant.”
On other visits, instead of finding him a quiet room, and sending someone to fetch him when it’s his turn to be seen, he says the hospital has left him to wait outside, and he’s missed his turn because no one has come to get him. He now suspects that no “Quiet Room” exists, but the hospital insisted to us that it does provide this facility, stating: “Provision is in place for quiet areas for those patients with additional care needs and is available depending on clinical need, where circumstances allow.”
Mr Birch has also experienced problems with the hospital’s approach to his visual impairment. He says as a blind person in an unfamiliar environment, on an overnight stay he needs his husband at his side to help with tasks such as finding the toilet.
“I have to know my environment to know where I’m going and where things are,” he says. “So when l’m in a hospital, I have to have my husband, who is my full time carer, with me practically 24 hours a day.
“Otherwise I would be pressing the buzzer for the nurse every few minutes whenever I need something.”
But he says his spouse has been made to feel unwelcome, when staying outside of standard visiting hours.
“In all the instances in the cases that we filed, they provided him with nothing, not even a pillow.
“And they’re actually quite hostile towards him being there, always questioning like, ‘Why is he here? Why haven’t you gone home? Do you really need him?’”
Responding to the claims, the hospital told us “We aim to support our patients in a personalised way, including, for example, supporting partners to stay overnight.”
Mr Birch also says staff disapproved of him bringing his guide dog to the hospital. “They attempted to say that other people might not be comfortable with a dog in this area. It doesn’t matter whether somebody else is comfortable with a dog or not. That’s a fully trained working guide dog.”
The hospital told us “Guide – and Assistance – Dogs are welcome at our Trust, in line with our existing policy.”
Mr Birch says all he is trying to do is to get the hospital to make reasonable adjustments, as it’s required to do by the Equality Act 2010. “Reasonable adjustments can be anything,” he explains. “The law doesn’t actually set out what a reasonable adjustment is.
“It’s basically a point on which the two parties must agree that something can be done to adjust the policy or facility, whatever it may be, that’s affecting the person with a disability.”
When asked why Mr Birch says he has repeatedly found an unwillingness by the hospital to make reasonable adjustments for him, the hospital told us “We know making reasonable adjustments is a legal requirement to ensure quality care and a positive experience for all.”
And asked whether hospital staff would undergo fresh training to ensure they meet their obligations under the Equality Act, a spokesperson said:
“Training for our colleagues remains an ongoing action across our hospital. This, along with digital advances, mean we’re trying to ensure all patients’ needs are recorded and acted upon and that reasonable adjustments are made.”
Daniel Birch says he won’t let matters rest if he again feels the hospital is breaching its duties.
“I genuinely believe that the A&E department for Chesterfield Hospital believes they’re above the law, believes that they can be exempted from the Equality Act, and they actually did attempt to use that argument in the lawsuit. I believe it’s not just a couple of bad apples, it’s the department as a whole.”
“It’s beyond disappointing. It’s beyond ridiculous, even.
“There are other people that I have heard walking out of that A&E department saying about how they’ve been denied access to advocates or their care plans haven’t been followed. There are people out there who aren’t as strong as me, who haven’t got the bravery to stand up and say this is wrong and it needs to be addressed.
“That’s one of the reasons why I keep pushing back against this so hard, because I feel that other people as well as myself deserve to have someone fighting for them. If they can’t do it themselves, then I will do it for them.”
Listen to Mr Birch’s story here
