“It is thought that currently, up to 50,000 people in the UK have lupus, about 1 in 1000 people.” (LUPUS UK)
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World Lupus Day is a day in which people come together to raise awareness around Lupus and to offer support to people living with the condition.
“Lupus is a long-term condition that can cause inflammation in the skin, organs, and in various other places in the body. It’s an autoimmune condition. The immune system, which normally protects us against infection and illness, starts to attack the body’s own tissues instead.” (Versus Arthritis).
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Lupus 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, Thorpe Park 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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Long 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, Greenbelt Festival offers taxi-buggies from the Box Office down to the Festival Village entrance. In addition, there is a closer and more accessible camp located close to the Festival Village entrance.
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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, Chessington World of Adventures Resort accepts Access Cards with the ‘+1’ symbol as proof for a free essential companion ticket.
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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. Please refer to each venue’s website for this information.
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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 with Lupus during World Lupus Day 2021 can use the discount code ‘lupusday21’ 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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LUPUS UK
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“We’re the national charity helping people with the presently incurable immune system illness lupus. We support people affected by lupus through our Regional Groups and advise many others on the symptoms prior to diagnosis.”
LUPUS UK
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Tel: 01708 731251
Web: www.lupusuk.org.uk/
Email: headoffice@lupusuk.org.uk
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The Hibbs Lupus Trust
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“We provide support and information to anybody affected by or concerned about lupus.
“We raise awareness of the symptoms of lupus to encourage early diagnosis and reduce life-threatening complications associated with the condition…”
The Hibbs Lupus Trust
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Tel: 0800 633 5118
Web: www.hibbslupustrust.org/
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