Amy Kavanagh was searching for pressing look after daughter at West Middlesex University hospital when incident occurred
Sat 7 Oct 2023 18.15 CEST
An NHS belief has apologised to a blind girl after a safety guard tried to stop her coming into a hospital along with her sick daughter as a result of she was along with her information canine.
Historian Dr Amy Kavanagh, 34, stated the incident occurred as she tried to enter the West Middlesex University hospital, which is run by the Chelsea and Westminster hospital NHS basis belief.
Posting on X, previously often called Twitter, Kavanagh, who campaigns on incapacity points, wrote: “Tonight a hospital security guard tried to stop me entering urgent care with GuideDogAva & my poorly baby.
“We kept walking after firmly saying ‘this is a guide dog’.
“Very grateful to the members of the public who also shouted him down & the nurse on the reception who had words.”
She added: “As a mother with an ill child I should not have to also deal with the additional fear & stress of an access refusal because of my guide dog.”
Kavanagh stated the “law has existed for over 25 years” – an obvious reference to the Disability Discrimination Act, launched in 1995 – and that there’s “no excuse for staff, including third-party contractors, in public service to be unaware”.
“Ava wears a huge sign and multiple labels stating she is a guide dog,” she stated.
“Little One (Dr Kavanagh’s baby) is OK, nothing serious but worth checking so we could get some advice.
“It’s exhausting constantly dealing with this in the NHS. If you work in healthcare, have conversations with your security teams & educate them about assistance dogs.”
A spokesperson for the belief stated it had contacted Dr Kavanagh and that the difficulty had been “raised at the highest levels”.
“We are taking this incident seriously, our organisation is fully committed to providing accessible services for everyone in our community, in a safe and welcoming environment,” the spokesperson stated.
“We have contacted the patient to offer our sincere apologies and, importantly, to ensure that appropriate action will take place following an immediate internal review.”
In 2021, Kavanagh spoke to the Guardian in regards to the sexual harassment she experiences as a blind person.
“I get harassed in public, on the street, in shops, on public transport, in cabs and even in professional environments,” she stated.
“A typical experience is that someone offers to help me cross a road and, whether or not I accept, they grab me by the arm and refuse to let go.
“Often they will use this opportunity to touch my breasts, make inappropriate comments about my sexuality or physical appearance, or ask me personal questions about my body.”
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