Living in inaccessible properties made lockdown harder for those with disabilities and mobility issues, a new survey has found.
Planning & Building Control Today shared the findings of a YouGov survey, conducted on behalf of housing association Habinteg, which revealed that 22 per cent of those surveyed were unable to use their bathroom without assistance, while 23 per cent had the same problem with their kitchen.
Overall, the survey found that a lack of access in the home meant disabled people’s wellbeing was three times more likely to have been damaged during lockdown than the wellbeing of those without disabilities.
The research also discovered that 24 per cent of disabled people don’t have a home that meets their access needs.
Sheron Carter, CEO of Habinteg, commented: “For far too long disabled and older people have been expected to ‘make do’ and put up with being unable to carry out the basics of daily living with any degree of independence. We really must do better to meet the housing needs of our whole community.”
Installing easy access showers could be one way of making the bathroom considerably more accessible and therefore enabling more people with mobility issues to live independent lives.
This isn’t the first time that this has been raised as an issue. Last year, the Metro reported that just seven per cent of homes in England meet basic accessibility standards, according to the English Housing Survey.
With the Covid-19 pandemic making it even more challenging for disabled people to get the support they need at home, this further highlights the need to introduce accessible features to more properties in the UK.
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