During the coronavirus lockdown, the Salford Star heard many stories of either disabled people not getting the support they needed, or their carers not receiving adequate support. Now a survey published today by Greater Manchester Disabled People's Panel (GMDPP) has shed more light on the plight of the disabled.
The Panel is made up of 14 disabled people's organisations, and 936 people responded to the survey, including 8% from Salford, making it one of the largest surveys by and for disabled people centred on the pandemic.
Key findings included...
90% of respondents said that the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health.
80% of respondents were not included in the official shielded group, yet 57% of those had support needs. For example, many could not get online supermarket food delivery despite needing to shield...
"Supermarkets are harming disabled people, in collaboration with the government, by refusing to deliver to those of us who are housebound but don't qualify for shielding. I've been trying to get a slot for a month but none are available, they won't prioritise me because none of my official diagnoses put me at high risk from the virus", wrote one respondent.
56% of respondents had experienced some difficulty sourcing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In Salford, 56% of respondents stated that it was 'Impossible' or 'Difficult' to source PPE.
62% of respondents have experienced one or more health visit being stopped due to Covid-19
Accessibility of community hubs, set up in each borough to coordinate food parcels, medicine and other forms of support, was a problem. 46% found them inaccessible with deaf people being the worst excluded. 35% of Salford respondents were 'Not so aware' or 'Not at all aware' of the hubs' existence, while one third were 'Extremely aware' or 'Very aware' of their existence (the most of any GM borough). 44% of Salford respondents also stated that the hubs were either 'Not accessible to me at all' or 'Very difficult' to access. Only 9% stated that it was 'Easy' or 'Very easy' to access the hubs.
Disabled people are less satisfied with their care plans since the outbreak of Covid-19. Prior to the outbreak, 23% were dissatisfied, this dissatisfaction increased to 43% during the pandemic.
37% said that their housing was not accessible or only partially accessible.
83% of disabled people were worried about how they would be treated in hospital because of attitudes to disability.
47% found Government advice unclear and many commented that the lack of a British Sign Language interpreter or conflicting language made official announcements inaccessible.
Digital exclusion was a problem, especially as a lot of the emergency response used digital platforms.
A third of disabled people believe that their local authority is not doing anything significant whilst 76% of disabled people are dissatisfied with the help provided by the Government.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) provided an impartial analysis of the data, and the findings confirmed the Panel's assertion that "disabled people were being disproportionately affected by the pandemic" and "are experiencing social isolation, reduced social care support, issues relating to access to food, medicine and information, and a severe impact on mental health".
Rick Burgess, Outreach and Development Lead of the Greater Manchester Disabled People's Panel and the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, says: "We have made 13 key recommendations for improving the problems we identified and are pleased that GM Mayor Andy Burnham and other regional leaders have shown a willingness to listen and engage with our issues.
"There is a lot of work to do to remove disabling barriers that have gotten worse over the last ten years and were made worse again in the pandemic" Rick adds "However we as disabled people and our organisations and communities will not stop until our rights to a fully inclusive society are realised..."
To read the full report click here
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