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5 min read
Lucy MacKinnon
Around the world, 1.3 billion, or 1 in 6, people live with a disability - yet many face barriers when accessing adequate healthcare services. At Releaf, it's important to us to participate in events like International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and so that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Each year, the World Health Organisation holds an annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities event at their Geneva headquarters to raise awareness and educate the public about the health inequalities that people with disabilities experience and, ultimately, advocate for political will and adequate resources.
So to help spread awareness of just one of the options available to disabled people in the UK, we’ve decided to give a recap of how all eligible patients can equally access our cannabis-based treatments and resources to support their physical and emotional wellbeing.
But first, here’s a quick run down of IDPD:
Organised by the United Nations, International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) takes place on the 3rd of December to promote the wellbeing and rights of disabled individuals.
This year, the theme is ‘amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’ and special attention is being given to the barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from accessing leadership roles in the health sector such as unequal educational experiences, discrimination, and stigma.
The World Health Organisation encourage healthcare services to include people with disabilities in the decision-making processes to ensure a more inclusive future, and this is a focal point for IDPD 2024.
And at Releaf, that’s exactly what we’ve done.
At Releaf, many of our team members have diagnosed chronic illnesses and disabilities, and their personal experiences proved invaluable when we were designing our bespoke patient portal and daily clinical practices, to ensure our service is seamless for all patients.
We also welcome feedback from all our patients to ensure we continually evolve, and regularly interview patients to find out how their treatment plans are going, and how we can improve as a healthcare provider.
Unlike most healthcare providers that unfortunately operate like a health lottery for access to specialists and resources, at Releaf it doesn’t matter where you’re geographically located in the UK.
It also doesn’t matter whether you have access to transport, and, if you’ve got a disability that affects mobility, you can ensure that your appointments have accessible entrances: because Releaf’s consultations all take place virtually.
Our one of a kind patient portal allows you to book in appointments with specialist doctors from the comfort of your own home, at a time that suits you best.
To make it even easier, there’s no waiting in line at a pharmacy or having to make arrangements for your medication’s collection before a certain time. Our cannabis-based treatments are delivered directly to your door using a tracked signed for delivery service.
We’ve also made efforts to ensure every patient is appropriately supported throughout their new healthcare journey, and our patient support team have completed extensive training to ensure that the support we offer is inclusive and, unmatched.
As well as modules on cybersecurity, information governance, consent, preventing radicalisation and GDPR, Releaf’s patient support team are fully trained on:
Contactable via email, phone, or through our live online chat service, Releaf’s patient support team are here to offer further advice, guidance, information, and support about our service - and they welcome any and all feedback on how we can improve.
We also know that you are the expert in your body, your health, and your wellbeing. And that’s why we place patients in the driving seat when it comes to their treatment plans.
If you need reasonable adjustments due to your disability, we are more than happy to accommodate you however we can, to ensure each individual feels respected and supported.
For example, we do offer one on one calls once a week from our patient support team to patients who require extra guidance or support throughout their journey.
We’re also able to make our consultations three-way calls, so if a patient requires an interpreter during their appointments they can attend remotely too, and they don’t have to be in the same geographical location as the patient.
And in terms of content, we’ve made sure it's accessible to all. Our FAQ videos and the clips we’ve published from interviews we’ve held with patients have been edited to include closed captions.
While we have already made an enormous effort to ensure our practices are inclusive, we are committed to continually improving and adapting where possible.
At the moment, we’re working on new developments to our patient portal to make things even more accessible during consultations and when accessing our patient support team. And while we’re keeping these new updates under wraps for now, rest assured - inclusivity is at their core.
It is important to seek medical advice before starting any new treatments. The patient advisors at Releaf are available to provide expert advice and support. Alternatively, click here to book a consultation with one of our specialist doctors.
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Am I eligible?With five years of journalism and healthcare content creation under her belt, Lucy strives to improve medical cannabis awareness and access in the UK by producing high quality, credible content.
All of our articles are written by medical cannabis experts, guided by strict sourcing guidelines, and reference peer-reviewed studies and credible academic research. Our expert clinical team and compliance specialists provide valuable insights to ensure accuracy when required. Learn more in our editorial policy.
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