Disabled Hampshire student had to pay for university bed - BBC

A pupil with cerebral palsy had to wage for her ain specializer instrumentality to let her to be assemblage aft her section authorization refused.

Izzie Stevens, from Fleet successful Hampshire, paid much than £2,000 for a hoist and a furniture truthful she could spell to Reading University to survey biomedicine.

She was reimbursed aft "months of fighting" to get the wealth back.

Hampshire County Council said it was "sorry to perceive of the frustrations experienced with the work provided".

The 20-year-old, who needs a carer 24/7 on with a "few pieces of equipment", is studying a instauration twelvemonth astatine Reading successful Berkshire with a presumption to going to aesculapian school.

"In the adjacent 10 years I mightiness beryllium a doctor," she said.

Ms Stevens said 10 days earlier she was expected to beryllium moving she received an email that said the instrumentality she needed was being refused due to the fact that it was "out of transportation and servicing area".

"They said 'we don't supply instrumentality to students astatine assemblage extracurricular of Hampshire'." she said.

"I felt similar I'd moved to a antithetic country, erstwhile successful information I'd lone gone 13 miles down the road."

The instrumentality she needed included a peculiar profiling bed, to alleviate her chronic symptom erstwhile she sleeps, and a hoist successful lawsuit she falls onto the floor.

Ms Stevens was capable to bargain the the items she needed with savings, but said it had been a combat to get the wealth back.

She said: "It took 3 months to transportation them I was entitled to the money, due to the fact that I shouldn't person had to bargain it successful the archetypal place.

"If I hadn't person pushed them I don't deliberation they would person fixed it to me."

And she said the occurrence had taken a toll connected her intelligence health.

"Able-bodied radical aren't restricted connected wherever they tin go, truthful wherefore are disabled radical restricted connected wherever they tin go, it's conscionable not fair," she said.

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: "Supporting radical with disabilities to fulfil their imaginable is highly important to the region assembly truthful we are atrocious to perceive of the frustrations experienced with the work provided successful this instance.

"We would similar to reappraisal the attraction arrangements for the instrumentality that was purchased - and volition beryllium successful interaction soon - with a presumption to ensuring section authorization enactment for servicing is enactment successful spot going forward."