If you see the AccessAble graphic on our website, you can click on the graphic and it will take you to their website to see accessible information about what that location.
Mersey Care is one of more than 90 NHS trusts and thousands of other organisations who have worked with AccessAble, the UK’s leading provider of detailed disabled access information. We are committed to making sure that our services can easily be used by everyone. Because we know everyone has particular needs and expectations, we commissioned an external group to compile reports about what our sites are like.
AccessAble was set up by people with special interest in going far beyond what is sometimes seen on websites: vague terms like ‘wheelchair friendly’ or ‘disabled toilet present’. Their surveyors start by looking at the route into a building and then noting what is available inside from the perspective of physical, neurological and other access needs. They describe what is there simply and clearly, to help you plan and know what to expect. There are photos, quick summaries and easy read versions as well.
You can see the details of Mersey Care’s specific sites on links on our website. The AccessAble website has the same information, as well as searchable reports about many other companies and services.
The reports are also available on the AccessAble App which is free to download from the App Store and Google Play (Mersey Care has no responsibility for external software and we can’t help with online accounts). If you do access the internet on your phone, it’s handy to have the page open as you come to us, although don’t forget that you may not be able to use your mobile inside all our services.
The reports are publicly available. They allow visitors and users to be better informed about their visit to Mersey Care. We’re aware some of our older locations may not seem as compliant as other sites and we will be using the information to inform future investment and design.
This important project has been planned over the last year and went live in early 2023. As well as our external partners, it has involved Mersey Care’s Staff Side and senior staff working across the Trust in Sustainability, Health and Safety Advisors, Staff Networks, Engagement and Experience, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Communications. Mersey Care was assessed in the same way as AccessAble have done so nationally so the end use can compare information clearly.
AccessAble have specially trained surveyors who have inspected tens of thousands of venues across the country – from shops to restaurants and from tourist sites to NHS properties – and they create detailed access guides, with images, about what to expect when visiting.
In the last year, they have done the same with Mersey Care’s wards, clinics and offices and they will continue to keep the information up to date. If you find something that isn’t right, or have a concern that you want us to act on, please contact our PALS and complaints team.
All the guides sit on AccessAble’s own website and users can search many locations nationally by postcode or building type.
“This partnership gives an independent, informed assessment of our sites, which anyone using our services can view before visiting. We are pledged to continue improving accessibility and the work done here shows that we’re committed to being transparent about people’s needs at our locations and how people experience accessing them.”
Elaine Darbyshire, Mersey Care’s Executive Director of Estates.
