|
THE DISABLED RESIDENT
These pages will try to give information about living
in the area for people with disability. You may already live here, or may be contemplating
a move to a rural location such as ours, and wondering what facilities there may be to
help you to live independently. We hope to be able to build this section into a useful
resource, and will always be happy to try to answer any questions you may have (email us
at disability@newtonmore.com),
or incorporate new sections if there is anything you would like to see.
First - an introduction to general facilities....
As you might imagine, public transport really isn't that good in the area - although we
are well served from an inter-city express coach viewpoint, if you need to travel by bus
to the main centre to the north in Inverness, or south in Perth, the service is quite good
- but pretty hopeless if you use a wheelchair. Fine, though for those with visual
impairment or poor hearing, as drivers are always very helpful. If you want to get around
locally by bus, the situation is very poor, as it is these same inter-city services which
you must use, and fare staging is such that it can be inordinately expensive to travel
just a few miles.
Taxis are quite cheap, but again, there is no-one with
a specifically wheelchair friendly taxi, and we don't use black cabs. One of the taxi
firms does operate a Nissan Serena though, which is quite good if you are able to transfer
onto an ordinary car seat, and the driver will always assist. One redeeming feature of the
transport situation is that Newtonmore is on the main railway line from Glasgow/Edinburgh
to Inverness - in fact there are through services from London too - during the day, using
the east coast main line, and stopping at Kingussie, three miles away, but not at
Newtonmore, and at night on the west coast route, the sleeper service does stop at
Newtonmore in both directions. The class 158/170 diesel sets used on the Glasgow/Edinburgh to
Inverness route have a space for a wheelchair to be accommodated, but booking in advance
is advisable - if they know you're coming, the guard will be happy to assist in getting on
or off. If you travel on the sleeper though, you MUST be careful to ensure that someone on
the train knows you want to get off at Newtonmore, particularly if you have visual
impairment, as the sleeper train is longer than the platform and there is a risk that you
might step off into space in the dark of a winter's morning.
The
Badenoch
and Strathspey Community Car Scheme has two vehicles available to it
that are suitable for users with wheelchairs, one of which is based in
Newtonmore. This is an excellent facility for getting out and about and
is available for disabled users to travel to appointments, go shopping,
or simply to go for 'days out'.
If you are a car driver, or your family has a vehicle
to get you around and about, you will find that this particular mode of transport is a
real joy in this area, compared to the urban or suburban environment. Our roads are
generally very quiet, except in the height of summer, and even then, traffic jams are
virtually unheard of - we tend to take it for granted, and get annoyed if we have a three
minute delay getting onto the main A9 in the Inverness 'rush hour'!
The pavements on the east side of the Main Street are
wide and fairly flat, and there are several good spots with dropped kerbs for crossing the
road, but the pavement on the west side is narrower (wide enough, though). From the viewpoint of the visually impaired, although there is a crossing in the
village, it's a good old fashioned Zebra Crossing, not a Pelican, or light controlled
talking affair, but people manage quite well - mainly because the road just isn't that
busy.
Whatever your disability, we think it's fair to say
that you will find the people of Newtonmore welcoming and friendly and ready to help in
any way they can, although they are naturally reticent and won't want to 'interfere' if
you would rather get on with things yourself.
In recent years, despite the rural nature of our
communities, facilities have generally improved steadily, and The Highland Council,
although subject to budget difficulties like all councils these days, are generally
helpful and flexible in making arrangements. You may well find that you travel quite a
distance for a suitable school, but the Council are very good at making appropriate
arrangements - our own son used to be picked up and returned every day by taxi - 46 miles
each way.
For adults, day centre activities are also often at
some distance away, but again, as long as you are clear and forthright in establishing
what your needs and wishes are, the council usually seem to be able to deliver something
suitable. There is a small day centre running three days a week in Kingussie (Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday) with very good staff and a nice, intimate environment, though a
limited range of activities. Some people supplement these three days by then going to the
main day centre (The Corbett Centre) in Inverness on the other weekdays, where there are
many more activities to be enjoyed.
The same observation applies to respite care
arrangements - respite care breaks of up to a fortnight or longer can be taken at a couple
of places, but the main council operated respite care facility for adults is in Brora,
nearly a hundred miles north! To those who are used to the smaller distances of the south,
this may come as something of a shock, but when you live here, you come to realise that
distance is much less of an object than it is in the south. The 46 miles to Inverness
means 46 minutes in a car, and the 100 miles to Brora is just over an hour and a half. The
centre in Brora is also small and intimate, with really good staff who will make you feel
welcome and very much 'at home' in no time. It might be a long way, but it's worth it. The
council operated respite care centre for schoolchildren (up to the age of 19) is 'The
Orchard', in Inverness - we have no personal experience of this centre, but there would be
no reason to doubt that it is well-run, accommodating and friendly. There are also
privately operated respite care facilities at 'Options for Independence' - British Red
Cross, Inverness and at Badaguish Centre - The Strathspey Holiday Trust - near Loch
Morlich, outside Aviemore. The latter is an activity related break, full of things to do
for the active - no matter how disabled - whilst the former, from our personal experience,
admittedly of some years ago, was a quiet, house-based break - more ideal for those who
like their own space, and don't want to be out and about all the time. Social Work
Department funding support should always be cleared and discussed in advance -
particularly where privately operated respite breaks are required.
For short breaks - the chance for carers to get out in
the evening, or do a bit of shopping - there is a thriving Badenoch and Strathspey branch
of Crossroads Care - although as with everything these days, they need to be careful with
their limited budget.
If you're out shopping, you'll find that almost
everywhere shopkeepers will go out of their way to help you if you need help, and will
just as readily treat you as the same as anyone else if that's what you want. One problem that we do have in
Newtonmore, is that our main village supermarket - the Co-op - is crammed to the roof and
walls with goods, because its space is severely limited, and it simply isn't possible to
get a wheelchair round. In fact, it is the ONLY shop in Newtonmore that you can't get
round in a wheelchair. Most shops have no step, or a small single 'lip' at the entrance
and are easily accessible, and although you may not be able to get into the Co-op, there
are alternatives for most things. There is an excellent fully accessible large Tesco
supermarket in Aviemore, 14 miles away, which will cater for your main weekly shopping
trip.
For those with an interest in our local passion for the
game of Shinty, the pavilion at the Shinty ground is fully disabled accessible, and has a
fully fitted disabled toilet. The Golf Clubhouse is also fully accessible, using the side
entrance which is ramped, and has excellent facilities inside. There is also a disabled
toilet at the Highland Folk Park, on the edge of the village, although the folk park is
only open May to September. The main public conveniences in the centre of the village also
have a disabled facility.
If you do want to think about moving to the area, here
are some useful contacts for you :
Highland Council Social Work Department, Aviemore Office - Isobel McCourt 01479 810251
Highland Council Education Department - Educational Psychologists 01463 233494
Caberfeidh House Day Care Centre, Kingussie (contacted through 'The Wade Centre') 01540
661863
The Corbett Centre, Inverness 01463 702915
Community Nurse for Learning Disabilities - Duncan MacKay 01667 452914
Crossroads (Badenoch & Strathspey) Care Attendant Scheme - co-ordinator Marlyn MacKay
01540 662029
Drummond School, Inverness 01463 233091
The Orchard, Inverness (respite care for young people up to age 19) 01463 716032
Beachview, Brora (respite care for adults) 01408 622004
Faces (Family Association for Children with Extra Special Needs) Alison
MacKeachan 01540 651752
< Community
|
