A hospital trust and a primary care trust have been served with legal notices giving them 28 days to prove they do not discriminate against disabled patients or staff.

The Disability Rights Commission has issued compliance notices to North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals trust and Tameside and Glossop PCT for failing to produce evidence that they comply with the disability equality duty.

The trusts now have 28 days to produce the evidence or face a court appearance.

Legal background

The disability equality duty came into force last December and requires all public bodies to examine ways to ensure disabled people are treated equally on access to services and employment opportunities.

All NHS trusts and other public bodies were required to produce a disability equality scheme to correspond with the launch of the duty. But, despite warning letters followed up by the naming of 19 NHS organisations, a total of nine public bodies have still failed to satisfy the commission.

A spokesman for North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals trust said the trust takes the disability equality duty very seriously and was consulting with staff and users on a workable scheme, which will soon be published.

Tameside and Glossop PCT chief executive Dr Tim Reilly said it would 'accelerate' the introduction of disability equality proposals.

Topics