Overview

Being a hospital you would expect fairly decent wheelchair access which for the best part is true however on the wards the toilets are very tight and almost impossible for my wife to access with her wheelchair. The toilets in other areas of the hospital are accessible but often are poorly equipped and the red cords are often tied up. Like today we were at X-ray for an appointment. We visited the disabled toilet only to find the red cord tied up and unable to untie it. Another issue we noticed is the lack of staff knowledge about using any hearing loop systems we both use a hearing aid and often look for the hearing loops as they are a massive help. The major issue we always find with Monklands Hospital is the heat, often it is very hot and can be very uncomfortable at times. There is very limited ways to cool off.

Transport & Parking

Disabled parking is provided at the main entrance of the hospital but there are more spaces in the other car parks around the building. However the best spaces to use are those at the main entrance as this offers full access to all. As the car park to the rear of the hospital offers disabled parking but the distance to the main hospital is lengthy and depending on route includes stairs. You also have a large drop off area outside the main entrance this is excellent especially at busy times when car park is full.

Access

Access is excellent but there are some areas where wheelchair access is a challenge.

Toilets

Toilets vary depending on where you are in the hospital on wards they can be tight to negotiate and then the other toilets in the hospital can be ok. Some offer better access than others. However the red cords in most of the toilets are tied up.

Staff

The staff do try their best to assist you they often go out their way to help. The team in X-ray are superb they seen I was going to struggle to take my wife from MRI area to the disabled toilet as they put her in a MRI wheelchair and we had my wifes own chair with us. They happily wheeled her along for us as I brought our chair and bags along.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Better staff training about red cords. Don't want to visit again but it's a hospital no doubt we will be back at some point for something.