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Ewell Road
'More than just a building to us': Surbiton Health Centre boss speaks out over criticism by disabled groups
Surbiton Health Centre has had a troubled first six months.
The chief executive of the company which owns Surbiton Health Centre has said criticism of the building by disabled people and campaigners is “disappointing”. Disability groups, including former mayor councillor Mary Heathcote, who is registered blind, and Theo Harris, chief executive of Kingston Centre for Independent Living, accused developers of failing to listen to their advice before the centre opened. Their report, to be discussed tonight at a health overview scrutiny committee, claims the centre has poor signage for visually impaired people, corridors too narrow for more than one wheelchair to pass through, no tactile paving to direct blind patients, and a lack of hoists.
Surbiton Health Centre was also hit with weeks of phone problems after opening on March 4 leading to numerous complaints from patients about not being able to get through to their doctor.
Ms Theron said the partnership had taken “great pains” to make sure the building surpassed statutory access requirements, so that everyone could make use of the centre “no matter what their disability”. She said corridors were 1,500m wide instead of the statutory 1,200m and that landscaping outside the building “is in contrasting colours and textures and clearly delineated”. She also cited a recent report by Kingston Council surveyor Steve Wilson, which said the centre went beyond minimum building standards, although the report said the centre was not “incapable of improvement”.
Fulcrum is part of the Meridiam Group – a European pension-fund backed investment company which has funded the Limerick Tunnel construction, the Presido Parkway project in San Francisco and the Nottingham Tram development.
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