As the applicants indicated, despite having the right to park the car at the entrance to the polyclinic in a space designated for persons with disabilities, the security guard refused to raise the barrier. The parents also tried to explain to the security guard that their son has a disability and, moreover, due to a broken leg, cannot move independently, asking to be allowed to approach at least briefly, but they heard the response that there were no spaces, according to the service’s press release to the media.
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Then one of the parents brought a wheelchair from the polyclinic, transferred the child into it, and thus reached the medical facility. However, incidents were unavoidable – while the parents were trying to seat their son, the empty wheelchair slipped from their hands, rolled downhill, and a traffic jam formed near the barrier.
Finally, seizing the moment when the barrier was raised for another car, the applicants entered the polyclinic territory. They noted that the space designated for persons with disabilities was free.
After the service started an investigation and contacted Santaros Clinics, they confirmed that vehicles bearing the “Person with a disability” distinguishing sign, also transporting people with disabilities, upon presenting the appropriate documents, may enter the clinic territory regardless of parking lot occupancy.
In turn, the security guard justified himself by saying the car was not allowed in because it was not an emergency case, and there was a large flow of visitors at that time. Still, he apologized for his actions.
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According to the Equal Opportunities Ombudswoman Birutė Sabatauskaitė, the service provider did not ensure the applicants’ right to access the polyclinic territory and thus discriminated against them based on disability. “It is regrettable that people with disabilities or those caring for them are still forced to face situations where their vulnerability is further increased, whether it is problems with parking or inaccessible public buildings and spaces,” she said.
Santaros Clinics were found to have violated the Equal Opportunities Act, and the institution was given a warning. In turn, the clinics announced that the security guard was warned, and if he violates work discipline again within 12 months, his employment contract will be terminated.
Last year, the Service received the most complaints about discrimination based on disability – 125. More than half of these were related to possible violations in the field of consumer rights protection. Complaints based on disability have been steadily increasing – 48 complaints were received in 2022, 49 in 2023, and 67 in 2024.
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