“For children in the UK, the average number of hospital admissions for Encephalitis per year is around 6 in every 100,000.” – The Eden Dora Trust
World Encephalitis Day is a day in which people come together to raise even more awareness around Encephalitis and offer advice and support to people living with the condition.
“Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed (swollen).
“It can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.
“Anyone can be affected, but the very young and very old are most at risk.” – The National Health Service (NHS)
Encephalitis & 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.
–
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.
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.”
–
Level Access
The ‘Level Access’ symbol is not just available to wheelchair users, but also to people who find accessing stairs impossible or require additional space in order to feel more comfortable in a venue’s environment.
Different providers have different systems in place to facilitate this access requirement.
For example, Rize Festival offers a wheelchair-accessible viewing platform and accessible camping facilities. Charging points for wheelchairs are available at many of the viewing platforms.
–
Urgent 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.
–
Distances
For people who would perhaps have difficulty with walking/ self-propelling a wheelchair for longer distances, we have the ‘distances’ symbol to communicate this access requirement with different providers.
Different providers have their own ways of accommodating this access requirement.
For example, The Holbeach Music & Beer Festival offers a free accessible shuttle bus service. For more information, please visit the festival’s website.
–
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, Harry Potter Studio Tour accepts Access Cards with the ‘+1’ symbol as proof for a free essential companion ticket.
–
Additional Access Requirements
The ‘Additional Access Requirements’ symbol is used to indicate that you have additional access requirements that haven’t already been covered by the other symbols & you can communicate these access requirements with different venues & attractions.
A lot of venues & attractions will include additional information about their events/services on their website. This may include information about the use of strobe lighting & smoke machines during performances, which can be an issue for people with epilepsy. Please refer to each venue’s website for this information.
–
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.
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.
–
The Encephalitis Society
“The Encephalitis Society was founded in 1994 by a group of parents whose children had been affected by the condition. They found that information about encephalitis and support for people affected and their families was virtually non-existent.”
The Encephalitis Society
–
Tel: +44(0)1653 692583
Web: https://www.encephalitis.info/
Email: comms@encephalitis.info
–
The Eden Dora Trust
“Launched on the first World Encephalitis Day, 22nd February 2014, we formed this trust primarily to raise desperately needed funds to provide training for adults working with children affected by Encephalitis and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), to fund research in to Childhood Encephalitis and support families and carers when they need it most.”
The Eden Dora Trust
–
Tel: 07814 12 13 14
Web: https://edendoratrust.org/
Email: contact@edendoratrust.org
–
📷: https://braininfectionsglobal.tghn.org/news-events/
