Overview

We had decided as we used to be regular blood donators when we were at uni and thought why not give it a go again as the blood levels are particularly low at the moment.I had checked to make sure that I was still allowed to donate and it looked like I didn’t fall into any of the categories that said I couldn’t. It was a challenging situation from the parking to the waiting outside and the heavy doors which were involved. Especially as after the drive I really needed the loo and we had to wait until our appointment time before we were allowed in. As someone who likes to be as independent as possible and judge places as to whether I could go there by myself rather than needing help as far as possible it wasn’t that great an experience. I don’t think I could have managed by myself as the doors were quite heavy and the room where they do the preassement is quite small. You also need to be able to transfer onto the bed yourself and they were quite high and difficult to clamber onto. I think normally you can (if you have brought someone with you) get them to assist you on but as we had got separated while my boyfriend was having his pre-assessment, this was not possible. I managed but was not an experience I wanted to repeat. The staff were nice and thankful that we had come but it wasn’t the most fun experience and put me off a bit repeating it. Maybe if I do a bit more research before next time I will have a better experience.

Transport & Parking

It was awful, I could not find disabled friendly parking nearby. The only parking we could find was down the hill at the left of the building or if you were with someone then they could drop you off and then Go and park. We were early so we drove around for a bit to see whether there was a better option, we decided to stop outside the front entrance and I got myself and my chair out and then my boyfriend went and parked. I found it a bit awkward waiting for him at the front. I was so glad that I wasn’t there by myself, which was the original plan, as I am not sure I could have made it up and down that hill without tiring myself out or crashing. I thought I had read somewhere about where best to park and that it was accessible but then could not find it this morning when I looked again.

Access

There was a separate exit/entrance for disabled access but the door was quite heavy. As there is a one way system in place the passage ways are smaller than normal which makes getting through the corridors more challenging.

Toilets

It was easy to find in the main entrance hall and had handrails and was fine for me to manoeuvre in.

Staff

Anything else you wish to tell us?

It was very COVID secure and everything was much more single use that previous times I have been such as the juice and biscuits .