A community group advocating for people with disabilities says some women are being denied access to mammograms because of their disabilities.
It’s been an issue for nearly a decade, says RAPLIQ (Regroupement des activisites pour l’inclusion Québec).
“We have breasts too, like women without disabilities,” said Linda Gauthier, RAPLIQ president. “So it’s humiliating when they are telling us no. It’s like we have no access to health care.”
The group said that in October it called 94 private clinics and hospitals across the province, designated to do screenings and 46 per cent of them refused to serve the woman if she had a disability.
“We’re mentioning we’re in a wheelchair, we can’t stand up and we need proper accommodations and one of the answers we got is: Are you sure you can’t stand up just for a few seconds?” said Steven Laperrière, RAPLIQ’s general director. “We’ve had that answer more than once, believe it or not.”
According to the group, back in 2017 they discussed the issue of accessibility with former Quebec health minister, Gaétan Barrette, and instructions on how to accommodate a woman with a disability were supposed to have been given to the screening centres.
But RAPLIQ insists, they’re clearly not being followed.
In a statement to Global News, Quebec’s health and social services ministry say they deplore these kinds of situations.
“In November 2017, the ministry intervened in certain centres denounced by RAPLIQ as not suitable for clients with reduced mobility. From that point on, all centres concerned by the complaint have had to put measures in place to adapt their mammography practices and services to people with disabilities … We are dealing with these issues on an ongoing basis with the regions.”
They added that all mammography equipment in Quebec can be adjusted to the height of a wheelchair, provided that the arms of the wheelchair are removable.
But advocates say the issue boils down to training and lack of knowledge, something that’s in the instructions already provided.
“You wouldn’t want your mother, sister or daughter to die of breast cancer. We don’t want that either,” said Gauthier.
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