Experts get Waitemata hospitals on track

By TAMA MOISER

Waitemata Health has called in the experts to make sure the needs of disabled people are served during its $120 million expansion programme.

Project manager Leanne Catchpole said the disabled were too often overlooked when health facilities and hospitals were designed.

So the hospital service has asked three advisers, from the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind, CCS (formerly the Crippled Children's Society) and the Deaf Association, to suggest standard design features to be used throughout the building programme.

CCS disability awareness coordinator Vivian Naylor said she hoped Waitemata Health would go beyond building code requirements, which were only minimum standards.

It was easier for people who had disabilities themselves to advise on design issues, she said.

"Not only do we know the building code, but we can also give personal examples of why life can be so frustrating when the built environment is not designed properly."

It was unusual for developers to get it right first time, she said. "It's fair to say that you will rarely ever find a building that truly meets all the design requirements of the building code."

Railings in appropriate places, easy-turn handles and taps, and conspicuous signs could make buildings more accessible for people with disabilities.

Foundation for the Blind community education adviser Chris Orr said corridors were often not wide enough for blind people being led by another person or a guide dog. Double doors made life easier for the blind, but it was important to make sure both doors were open.

Those with visual impairments needed contrasting colours on the edges of steps and coloured strips across the middle of glass doors.