Next year the National Commission for Persons with Disability (KNPD) will be carrying out audits on 170 pharmacies in Malta and Gozo to inspect how accessible they are for persons with disability, especially those whose mobility depends on wheelchairs.
Speaking to The Malta Independent following the launch of an annual report which looks into the complaints received by the commission, KNPD Chairman Oliver Scicluna said that it is unacceptable that certain public places are still not accessible to all. He said that all public places should be made accessible, but most notably, clinics and pharmacies must champion the inclusive trend.
According to a report published by the Compliance Unit at KNPD, the most frequent complaints are about accessibility.
Mr Scicluna said that most of the new pharmacies are equipped to be accessible to all, however many are still not.
The KNPD has worked upon no less than 327 complaints between 2014 and 2015. Out of these, more than 200 were pending cases and some 120 were new cases.
A report published by the KNPD gives a detailed insight into the workings of the Commission, complains it receives and on-going investigations. An executive summary shows that the number of new complaints was reduced by 37 when compared to the previous year. Complaints related to accessibility remain the most frequent.
In the 15 years since its conception, KNPD has investigated more than 1640 cases. This means an average of 110 complaints each year. The lowest number of reported cases was registered in the year between 2003/4 while complaints peaked in 2008/9.
New complaints related to employment have gone down from 17 to 12 in the last year. When it comes to education, the number also went down from 20 to 12. The number of new complaints related to accessibility was at 63, which means eight less than the previous year.
Most of the complaints were directed to the government, with a total of 50 cases. 38 complaints were directed to the private sector and some 32 for the Local Councils. The Commission also received two cases related to accessibility which was directed to the Church.
Oliver Scicluna, the KNPD Chairman presented copies of the report to the Parliamentary Secretary for Persons with Disability, Justyne Caruana. The Parliamentary Secretary praised the work done by KNPD under Mr Scicluna's leadership despite the limited number of staff members. She said that KNPD is currently looking for another premises.
Dr Caruana also announced that the Prime Minister nominated Oliver Scicluna to become head of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2angFac
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