Mobile dental clinics in New Zealand not made accessible

From the Manawatu Standard in New Zealand:

Up to 700 young wheelchair users in Palmerston North, and many others with limited mobility, could be denied the chance to see dental therapists at the mobile clinics.

DPA Palmerston North and Districts president Christine Clark said she was bitterly disappointed their rights to be treated like everyone else would be undermined by a Health Ministry decision not to equip a fleet of mobile clinics with disability access.

And she was frustrated that a technicality could excuse the clinics from complying with the spirit of Barrier Free guidelines.

Because the clinics would use an appointment system, they would not come under the definition of buildings for public use, she said.

"I'm really dismayed about the whole thing.

"It's part of a wider issue that could apply to doctors' rooms and other health clinics where people come by appointment.

"People with disabilities are entitled to the same opportunities as everyone else."

Ms Clark said there were about 3500 wheelchair users, including adults, children and adolescents, in Palmerston North alone.

Excluding them from the mobile clinics also made it difficult, if not impossible, for the up to two in five children who had some level of disability, such as vision problems, using crutches or sticks to walk, and those with parents with disabilities.

It also posed problems for parents using pushchairs to bring young children to appointments.

Community meetings to discuss the location of fixed dental clinics, and the sites the mobiles will visit, are being hosted by Mid-Central District Health Board staff next week throughout the district.