AFTER successfully campaigning to move a dangerous bus stop to a new location, a local woman has turned her attention to the dangers faced by pedestrians accessing Melksham Hospital.
Bowerhill resident, Caroline Fielding, who relies on a white cane as a mobility aid and is registered as blind, has highlighted that there are no footpaths or safe areas for pedestrians to use to walk up to the hospital.
Describing her experience of accessing the hospital as similar to ‘stepping into a fairground dodgems ride’, Caroline is calling for pedestrian access to be provided by the hospital, allowing safe passage for pedestrians and disabled users.
She explained, “I have visited Melksham Community Hospital on a number of occasions and have always found it to be very challenging to access, due to the total lack of footpaths or safe areas for anyone to walk. This inaccessibility is further enhanced for a disabled or registered blind person reliant on a mobility aid, such as a white cane.
“At some point it must have been realised that pedestrian access was lacking within the hospital grounds because the first thing a pedestrian is met with is a yellow painted ‘path’ on the ground. It could reasonably be assumed that a pedestrian could follow this yellow painted path for safe passage to an entranceway into the hospital. However, it leads nowhere!
“I find it surprising that a hospital trust has not considered the needs of people who need to navigate by foot, let alone those of us with extra needs. Unnecessary challenges like this are very disheartening to anyone trying to retain as much independence as possible and makes them consider having to ask for assistance to attend a routine appointment.
“Surely as a hospital trust, they should be ensuring that they support and enable users to be independent. This sort of anxiety-inducing obstacle, adds to what is already a very challenging experience as a blind pedestrian and makes it overwhelming; unnecessarily forcing disabled people to be more and more reliant on others.”
NHS Property Services were approached for comment, but at the time of going to press had not responded.