Do mental health and services come under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995?
Yes, this Act makes it unlawful for service providers to refuse to serve a disabled person, offer a lower standard of service or provide a service on worse terms to a disabled person for a reason related to his/her disability. Service providers have had to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people in the way they provide their services (1999 code of practice). The DDA defines disability broadly as “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. This definition includes any “impairment resulting from or consisting of a mental illness”. It may be less easy to perceive how to make your service more accessible to people with mental distress. It might be beneficial to undergo mental health awareness training. You could ask a local mental health group to carry out an assessment for you. You may want to think about the office environment, does the layout make it more difficult for peo
