HOSPITALS have been criticised for their ‘poor’ access for visually impaired people.

A damning report by a health watchdog criticised some of East Lancashire’s hospitals for their poor signage and lift facilities for the visually impaired.

The mystery shopping report, which was published by Healthwatch Lancashire, summarises the experiences of a volunteer with a visual impairment, who visited 11 different eye clinic departments delivered in hospitals across Lancashire.

The project was undertaken between December 2016 and March 2017 by a Healthwatch Lancashire volunteer, who was assisted by a trained guide dog.

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Burnley General Hospital was particularly criticised by the volunteer, who said she was glad she did not have to attend the hospital as navigating her way around was ‘very confusing’.

The report said: “The signage from the entrance was poor.

“The hospital is sectioned by areas listed in numbers and each area also has a colour which was very confusing to me. I entered at Area 7.

“A volunteer took me in a lift to the eye clinic but the lift did not speak the floor numbers so I didn’t know what floor I would be on if I was to attend on my own.”

While the volunteer also said the signage at Royal Blackburn Hospital was ‘poor’ for directing people.

She also criticised the signage at Accrington Victoria hospital as ‘being too high on the wall’ so she could not read it all, and also at Clitheroe Community Hospital as ‘too high and too small’ for her to read it.

James Maguire, divisional general manager for estates and facilities at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said : “We thank Healthwatch for the new report as the feedback it contains helps us to improve services for all patients.

"It is also good to know that our staff and volunteers receive praise for the manner in which they assisted visually impaired patients.

"We try to anticipate patient and visitor needs as much as possible and for this reason the Trust supports people with a visual impairment in a number of ways.”

The trust said these included ‘clear signage’ and way finding maps at all sites, lifts with automatic voice announcements at each floor, on some sites, accessible toilets throughout its hospital buildings and check-in machines which support people with low vision.