London

Hoists in hotels

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It is difficult for us to go away from home for any length of time. We have everything we need here, it’s fully accessible and set up exactly how we need it with a specialist profiling ‘hospital’ bed, ceiling track hoist and wet room. We also have a team of wonderful carers who come in and help us provide care for Quinns.

When we went to London for a hospital appointment last month, we had to leave all the home comforts and team behind for nearly a week. After our public transport experiences last time we decided to drive all the way. Huge thanks to Dad for his bravery at driving across Central London!

Quinns smiling in front of four made up beds in the Ronald McDonald House Evelina
Quinns and his Big Sister smile in the kitchen of the Ronald McDonald House Evelina
Quinns and his Big Sister smile with Westminster in the background across the river from Guys and St Thomas' hospital

Thankfully we were given a room in the Ronald McDonald Evelina House the nights before and after our appointment. Arriving to find a parking space in front of the house was a great relief after being on the road for nearly 12 hours. The DBS appointment went well but took the best part of the day, so it was so helpful to have a space to rest before we hit the road again the following day.

Dad managed to arrange a work gig for the Friday so on Thursday we transferred to the Premier Inn hotel at London Archway for the next two nights. I had heard it was the most accessible hotel in London boasting a total of 9 accessible rooms with ceiling track hoists!

We had two rooms booked: one standard and one accessible with a ceiling track hoist. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we ended up with two accessible rooms, both with hoists. One had a wet room with a shower, the other had a bathroom. (It was brilliant to have both so there was a choice of whether to shower or bath Quinns but a bit of me did feel guilty about having two accessible rooms in case someone else needed one.)

Part of the struggle with being away isn’t just the lack of hoisting but a combination of no hoist, low bed, and no additional helpers. So having one of those issues solved gave my back a bit of a rest at least.

Quinns smiles in his gravity chair in front of Anita who is sitting on a double bed. There is a ceiling track hoist in the top left of the picture.

Quinns, Big Sister and I had the Friday free to explore the city while Dad worked. Although the hotel is the most accessible in London the closest tube stations are not. We would have had a 25-minute walk to the nearest step free station, and we weren’t feeling well disposed to taking the bus after last time especially with a team member missing.

Instead, we made the most of our hotel room. With only an accessible shower room at home it was a bonus to be able to get Quinns in the bath. We used the hoist with his shower sling to gently lower him into the water where he relaxed for a good 30-40 minutes. It saved me from building the painstakingly packaged up shower chair that we had brought with us in the WAV.

Accessible bathroom with ceiling track hoist over bath and toilet in the Premier Inn Archway London
Connector for ceiling track hoist from hotel bedroom to bathroom

After our visit I contacted Premier Inn to thank them for having so many rooms with hoists available. I found out that bed raisers would have been available if I’d asked for them and the style of bed they are using is suitable for use with a mobile hoist which is good to know for future.

I also asked them why this one hotel had so many accessible rooms with hoists especially since the nearest tube station wasn’t accessible. Apparently, it was a planning condition from the Council when the hotel was built. So, this hotel has nine and their London Stratford hotel has one. Sadly though Premier Inn has no plans to roll out hoists in any other hotels in their chain.

Before this trip to London, I had never really thought about hoists in hotel rooms but they made a really big difference to our experience. There would be real potential if Premier Inn and other hotel chains were to take this on. Since being on this trip, I have also discovered there are no hoists in hotels in the whole of Scotland!

I would love to know about other people’s experiences of hoists in hotels.

London Transport

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Quinns and his Big Sister wait for the tube train to stop on the platform. The wheelchair symbol is on the closest door.

We’ve spent a bit of time in London over the years; internships as students, visits when Quinns was a baby in his buggy and more recently while he was in hospital there for two months. We felt relatively at ease navigating our way around by train, underground and bus. Our most recent visit for a hospital appointment was the first time we’ve attempted it with Quinns in his wheelchair. We learned some very valuable lessons.

There were no issues with our first two tube stations as they both had ‘Step free access from street to train’ which meant we could easily get Quinns’ wheelchair on and off the train but also that we could enter and exit the stations. We began learning to navigate the complex lift system that took us between all the different levels. Although we’ve never noticed it before there was ample signage to help.

A sign showing the Lift Guide in a London Tube station with lifts marked A to F.

We should have spent more time getting to know which stations had step free access as we reached one station where although we managed to get off the train easily enough there was no way to exit the station. Frustratingly the nearest accessible stop to where we wanted to go was two stops along the route in either direction. 

After having to go two stops further than our destination we changed to bus travel to get back. Although the first bus had no problem letting us on, the driver did tell us off for all having used the wheelchair ramp. He explained to Dad that ‘ we could have broken the ramp’.

We learned our lesson for the second bus. So while I stayed with Quinns and requested the ramp, Dad and Big Sister got on the front of the bus and paid. However, that bus driver decided that Quinns was only in a buggy therefore did not deploy the wheelchair ramp leaving Quinns and me on the pavement in the rain as he drove off with Dad and Big Sister inside! 

We met up soggy and annoyed at the next bus stop after Dad had given the bus driver a piece of his mind. On the third attempt we all made it onto the bus but only after Dad had persuaded this driver that Quinns was in a support buggy which should be treated as a wheelchair.

We finally reached London’s King Cross Train station but having had no idea how long it would take to cross London we left booking train tickets till the last minute. We arrived 20 minutes earlier than the departure time of our train only to get a lecture about not having booked assistance because the ramp is the responsibility of station staff not train staff.

Regardless of who put the ramp out we found ourselves in the First Class carriage of the train having all been upgraded due to the position of the wheelchair space. We very gratefully received all the snacks and drinks that were on offer nearly four hours after deciding to leave London.

Learning new systems and finding out the best ways to travel as a wheelchair user is one thing but never knowing whether you’ll be left in the rain by the bus or pampered in First Class is utterly exhausting and frustrating. I’m very glad of our little team as we navigated a barrier filled (both physical and societal) transport system together.

Quinns smiles aboard a train. The sign behind him reads Welcome Board/ Wheelchair space.