I didn't get the support I needed
"I took my brother to hospital, and he broke his knee because of football. And I was basically his next of kin. I was talking on behalf of him because he was in real pain. He waited for so long, literally five or six hours, to be seen."
"Hospitals should know better, we are constantly required to call for an appointment – they should be able to recognise that we are Deaf and offer alternatives, text numbers or even Centre of Sign Sight Sound’s contact details. Not simply rely on us phoning."
"There's a fear around registering with a GP. Maybe that's something we should want to change. Something guaranteeing that data stored by your surgery or the NHS doesn't get shared with the Home Office."
"My mother had cataracts. She was at the point where she couldn't really see. And she was put on a year long waiting list. So she had to pay for that service in the end."
"When I was a teenager I fell pregnant with my eldest. And I've always struggled to get the support I've needed. I've always been pushed from pillar to post or have not been able to get the help because I'm not classed as severe. Because I'm not a danger to...read more
"I just feel frightened for those people who don't have children that look out for them. I have an aunt and uncle who both had dementia at the same time. They were estranged from their children, but we didn't really know that. And they'd been lying on the floor in...read more
"When my mother needed an operation, when she came out there was a package arranged to support her. I couldn’t actually use it because they came and hoc times. If you've got someone with dementia, you can't have people turning up at ad hoc times. We have a separate toilet...read more
"My most recent experience is with my mother. She went through a really bad patch after my dad died. It was really difficult to get them to help and support with that initially. She really reached rock bottom before the authorities came in."
"People with dementia that need care can't stay in their own home anymore. They've had to go to care homes. But we haven't got a care home and we're never gonna get a care home. Because there's not enough funds and the council are not going to fund care home...read more
"I had my father in law waiting for a hip operation. These days it's about 18 months. And just before his operation, he had the pre op check. And they found that he had some condition where his blood doesn't clot. And they couldn't work out what to do. So...read more
"A friend of mine was in hospital for five months, because they couldn't find anywhere she could be. She had no money to pay for [care] herself."
"I used to work on a medical intervention ward, which was mainly elderly people who’ve had falls and were waiting to go for rehab or get some social care support. And they, essentially, were bed blocking. Because there weren’t the facilities available."