Deafdoggie
Established Member
- Joined
- 29 Sep 2016
- Messages
- 3,125
The NHS has, finally, been dragged (kicking & screaming) into the 21st Century. Sadly, the railways remain stuck somewhere in the 1970's.
Having been Deaf since birth, I've had a lifelong association with hospital audiology and ENT departments. In all those years, I've never even heard of a "hearing aid dispensing prescription certificate" Let alone actually seen one or been issued one.
Hearing aid battery books are no longer issued (in my area certainly, and I'm pretty sure in most, if not all, places) you simply ask for batteries as and when needed, with only an electronic record kept by the NHS. And with planet-saving rechargeable batteries becoming more common, even this is virtually obsolete.
The only proof the railway will accept is a mythical "dispensing prescription" or a long since disbanded battery book! Why an audiogram isn't accepted remains a mystery.
I initially got a Disabled Railcard many, many years ago, using my battery book, which even then was superfluous, and they were happy to renew the railcard each year without proof. Then along came Covid so I didn't renew. Now, I can't renew as its been too long & I can't buy a new one as I don't have the none existent proof. I mentioned this at Deaf Club and everyone confirmed they were in the same boat, with the only ones able to now get a Disabled Railcard those who haven't moved since their battery book was issued and that still have it & dust it off.
It is possible to get a signed form from Social Services as proof, but this has numerous downsides, firstly you've got to wait to be allocated a Social Worker, and as you only need one to sign a form for a railcard, you're not seen as a priority, so you'll likely qualify for a Senior Railcard before you get allocated one. Secondly, the Social Worker (whom you'll meet only once, or possibly not at all) doesn't know you or anything about you & is overworked, so will happily sign anything at all to move on to their next client. In other words, this "proof" is literally no proof at all. This is why a signed form from a social worker isnt taken as proof of anything by any other organisation. Taking an audiogram as proof would prove considerably more.
I know the movers & shakers in the railway industry read this forum, so hopefully there's one reading this now with the power & influence to get the railways into the 21st Century. Incidentally, the rules for bus passes were changed to reflect the changes in the NHS, so Deaf people can still get bus passes as they only require realistic proof, just not Disabled Railcards, because the railways remain resolutely stuck in the 1970's.
In the meantime, it's back in the car.
Having been Deaf since birth, I've had a lifelong association with hospital audiology and ENT departments. In all those years, I've never even heard of a "hearing aid dispensing prescription certificate" Let alone actually seen one or been issued one.
Hearing aid battery books are no longer issued (in my area certainly, and I'm pretty sure in most, if not all, places) you simply ask for batteries as and when needed, with only an electronic record kept by the NHS. And with planet-saving rechargeable batteries becoming more common, even this is virtually obsolete.
The only proof the railway will accept is a mythical "dispensing prescription" or a long since disbanded battery book! Why an audiogram isn't accepted remains a mystery.
I initially got a Disabled Railcard many, many years ago, using my battery book, which even then was superfluous, and they were happy to renew the railcard each year without proof. Then along came Covid so I didn't renew. Now, I can't renew as its been too long & I can't buy a new one as I don't have the none existent proof. I mentioned this at Deaf Club and everyone confirmed they were in the same boat, with the only ones able to now get a Disabled Railcard those who haven't moved since their battery book was issued and that still have it & dust it off.
It is possible to get a signed form from Social Services as proof, but this has numerous downsides, firstly you've got to wait to be allocated a Social Worker, and as you only need one to sign a form for a railcard, you're not seen as a priority, so you'll likely qualify for a Senior Railcard before you get allocated one. Secondly, the Social Worker (whom you'll meet only once, or possibly not at all) doesn't know you or anything about you & is overworked, so will happily sign anything at all to move on to their next client. In other words, this "proof" is literally no proof at all. This is why a signed form from a social worker isnt taken as proof of anything by any other organisation. Taking an audiogram as proof would prove considerably more.
I know the movers & shakers in the railway industry read this forum, so hopefully there's one reading this now with the power & influence to get the railways into the 21st Century. Incidentally, the rules for bus passes were changed to reflect the changes in the NHS, so Deaf people can still get bus passes as they only require realistic proof, just not Disabled Railcards, because the railways remain resolutely stuck in the 1970's.
In the meantime, it's back in the car.