Blind Dental Patient Told She Must Book Online

A woman who is registered blind says she was told she could not make an emergency dental appointment because she was unable to book it online.

Gail Drake, 66, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, called the town’s Mydentist practice with toothache but, despite explaining her situation, she was repeatedly told it was impossible to make an appointment by telephone.

When she asked to speak to the practice manager, she was told to make her complaint by letter or email, despite her visual impairment.

A spokesperson for the company has apologised for her experience and told the BBC it had “taken steps to resolve the issue”, adding that patients can book urgent appointments over the phone.

Drake, who called the practice after developing a “niggling toothache”, has been partially-sighted since childhood and has recently developed fast-growing cataracts.

She struggles to use apps and fill in online forms because of the small text and her inability to zoom in, and she said she expected adjustments would be made to accommodate her needs.

“I was met with, ‘You need to go online and book an appointment that way’,” she said.

“So I explained that I was registered blind and perhaps they’d have a different provision for me. And she just reiterated that I needed to go online.”

Drake said she was told she could try to call again on Monday morning, but was warned that all the emergency appointments might have already been booked online by other patients.

“I felt very upset, very frustrated and that nobody gave a damn about my pain,” she said.

“I was shocked to be treated like that.”

Drake contacted the Care Quality Commission about her experience.

The regulator advised her to make a formal complaint, and it was then that the company told her to make it by letter or email.

After the BBC contacted Mydentist, Drake received a telephone call offering her an emergency appointment that day.

A spokesperson for the company apologised and said: “Any patient who is in need of urgent care can contact the practice via telephone or through the website to inquire about availability and to make an appointment with the team.”

Khadija Raza, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said as well as ensuring all online booking systems were compatible with assistive technology, there “should also be non-digital methods, including telephone and face-to-face”.

Raza said: “Many blind and partially sighted people are not just finding it difficult to make medical appointments because of inaccessible systems, they’re also telling us they’re not receiving correspondence, including appointment letters or test results, in a format they can read.

“If you’re blind or partially sighted, you can request your health and care information in alternative formats, such as large print, email, audio or braille and there are resources to help people do so available on RNIB’s website.”