“One in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental illness.” – The National Health Service (NHS)
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Mental Health Awareness Week (10th – 16th May 2021) is a week in which people come together to raise more awareness about our Mental Health & to encourage others to talk.
“Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.”
– MentalHealth.gov
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Mental Health and the Access Card
Here at The Access Card, we support many cardholders to help them discreetly communicate the barriers they might face when out and about or visiting shows, events, or tourist destinations and have provided some more information about some of the typical access requirements we have processed.
Everyone is different and experiences their needs in different ways, but here are some examples based on our experience.
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Standing & Queuing
Whether you have difficulty with physically being in a queue for a significant period of time, difficulty with the concept of queuing, or have difficulty with being in a queue/ crowded spaces, the ‘Standing & Queuing’ symbol can be added to your Access Card to help communicate this access requirement.
Different providers have their own ways of accommodating this access requirement.
For example, Legoland Windsor Resort accepts Access Cards with the ‘Standing & Queuing’ symbol as proof for a Ride Access Pass.
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What is a Ride Access Pass?
“A Ride Access Pass is a virtual queuing system designed to make reasonable adjustments to assist guests who do not understand the concept of queuing, have a physical disability that prevents them standing for extended periods of time or permanently non-ambulant guests.”
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Access to Toilets
If you require urgent access to the toilet because of your health condition, e.g. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or incontinence, we have the ‘WC’ symbol. This symbol discreetly communicates this access requirement with different providers.
Urgent access to the toilet is a different access requirement to a general need to use an accessible toilet and therefore the ‘WC’ symbol cannot be awarded for the latter. If you would like more information about this, please speak to a member of our team.
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Essential Companions
For those that require a substantial amount of support from another person when out & about, we have the ‘+1’ symbol which indicates to providers that you would need a substantial amount of support to be able to access their facilities.
Different providers have different systems in place to facilitate this access requirement.
For example, Alton Towers Resort accepts Access Cards with the ‘+1’ symbol as proof for a free essential companion ticket.
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Face Mask Exemptions
More recently, throughout COVID, we have had a number of people whose needs mean that they are either unable to put on, wear or remove a face covering, or that they can feel distressed when wearing a face covering or that they are with someone who requires lip-reading to communicate, and as a response to feedback from our members, we now have an additional face mask symbol for those that need it.
There are a number of face mask exemption cards and certificates available in the UK, but we are the only face mask exemption card that offers verification of your exemption.
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Thinking of applying for a Card?
If you think the above would be useful for you and would like to apply for your Access Card you can do so quickly and easily by completing our short online application form and uploading some supporting information confirming your needs.
All applications received from people who have a Mental Health condition during Mental Health Awareness Week (10/05/21 – 16/05/21) can use the discount code ‘mhweek21’ to get £5 off a three-year Access Card.
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Further Sources of Information, Advice, and Support
Check out our full directory for how these symbols apply at over 1,000 venues in the UK and beyond.
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Mind
“We provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
“We won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.”
Mind
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Tel: 0300 123 3393
Web: www.mind.org.uk
Email: info@mind.org.uk
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We take a public mental health approach to prevention, finding solutions for individuals, those at risk and for society, in order to improve everyone’s mental wellbeing.
Mental Health Foundation
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7803 1100
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Tel: 0800 326 5559
Email: info@okrehab.org
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