Hemophilia A affects around "8,740 people in the UK" - The Haemophilia Society

World Haemophilia Day is a day in which people come together to raise more awareness about Haemophilia.

This year's theme is 'Access for All'.

"Haemophilia is a rare condition that affects the blood's ability to clot. It's usually inherited. Most people who have it are male." - The National Health Service (NHS)

Haemophilia & 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.

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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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.

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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, Cadbury World 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, which can be an issue for people with epilepsy. 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.

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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The Haemophilia Society

"The Haemophilia Society (THS) is the only UK-wide charity and free membership organisation for everyone affected by a bleeding disorder. We have over 4,500 members."

The Haemophilia Society

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Tel: 020 7939 0780

Web: https://haemophilia.org.uk/

Email: info@haemophilia.org.uk

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📷: https://wfh.org/world-hemophilia-day/