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My visit to Blackpool 2001

Mike Coatesworth

I requested for and received the official 2001 Blackpool holiday guide, including the special needs guide to Blackpool, from the Blackpool tourist office.

I read the main guide and the special needs guide with the intention of spending the weekend in Blackpool.

After checking the hotels that the guide states have been audited and surveyed by either action for better access or disability services (B, W&F) limited, I chose the Helmshore hotel, Charnley Road, Blackpool Central, as it was implied by the guide as having access to a wheelchair user travelling independently, and the hotel has been awarded "Care / ABA 2 Merit."

I telephoned the hotel and booked for a bed and breakfast stay from Saturday Night 28th April 2001 to Sunday morning 29th April 2001. I explained to the lady on the telephone that there would be a party of four of which one is a full wheelchair user, and my booking was accepted with no questions asked. So to be doubly sure that the booking was correctly accepted, I repeated that there would be a wheelchair user in the party, and I was informed that this was not a problem.

Looking forward to my weekend break, my wife and I along with my carer son and his wife, set off on Saturday morning to Blackpool and on arrival, booked into the Helmshore hotel.

I knew that there was going to be problems with the hotel as soon as I looked at it, as the ramp was not wide enough for an independent user and the top of the ramp was only just wide enough to turn the chair carefully with assistance, without the user falling down the stairs, as there were no safety barriers at all. Entering through the front door also proved difficult as my son had to lift the chair around so it could go through the front door.

We went up to the reception, and we were informed by the receptionist that we would have to transfer into a hotel wheelchair, as mine was too big to fit through the doors. I then realised that all the doorways were of a standard size and that not one door had been widened for wheel chair access.

The wheelchair was insufficient for a full time wheelchair user as the sides were not removable and it only had small wheels, which meant that the fully independent wheelchair user immediately lost his/her independence completely, as the user now became dependent on a carer to push him/her around.

On being shown to the room, which was on the first floor, we were informed that there was a lift. The lift is not wheelchair friendly; it has no facilities for the wheelchair user to operate if an emergency occurs and has insufficient room for a carer as well as the wheelchair user. After being pushed into the lift, the carer has to walk upstairs, while the wheelchair user has to sit and wait for the carer to open the door and be assisted from the lift.

The passageway to the room is not wide enough for a regular wheelchair user, and the bedroom door is not wide enough. On entering the room, I found that there were no facilities for a wheelchair user at all. The bathroom door was not wide enough, the toilet had no safety bars or grab rails, and shower was completely inaccessible and the tea/coffee facilities were too high to use.

I found no disabled toilets available in the hotel.

If there was a fire, and having been placed on the first floor, I couldn't find anywhere that a wheelchair user could escape to, especially as the lift would not be accessible?

The proprietors were very friendly and the food was excellent, and the hotel has the needs for the able bodied, but nothing at all for the independent wheelchair user.

In conclusion, I find that the guide is grossly misleading.

I would like to know who surveyed the hotel as they should immediately asked to completely re-check ALL the hotels that they have previously surveyed / recommended.

Personally I do not think that anyone has physically surveyed this hotel, and if it was surveyed, then an independent wheelchair user certainly didn't do it!

Recommendations:

The hotel should immediately be removed from the hotel disability/special needs list as they are definitely not accessible to a wheelchair user. Having a ramp and a small wheelchair to transfer into, definitely does not give it the title fully accessible for independent wheelchair user.

And this hotel was awarded CARE/ABA 2MERITS?

I should not have to ask questions as to a hotels suitability every time I wish to book a room, as the international sign of the wheelchair should mean what it states: Fully accessible for the independent wheelchair user.

I think that the tourist office should employ someone who knows the needs of a wheelchair user instead of wasting time and money on employees who most definitely do not appear to have a clue!

Note: No part of this story can be reproduced in any way without the author's written permission. All rights remain with the author.

My novels can be seen at

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/onetear1.htm

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