A company says it regrets how a disabled man with a degenerative bone condition was treated when his wheelchair was branded a health and safety hazard.
Charles Foreman, of Market Harborough – visited the Leicester Medical Examination Centre, in Halford Street, for an assessment related to his incapacity benefit last week.
However, the 52-year-old former foundry worker was turned away from the centre.
His wife Karen, also 52, said she was told the building was not equipped for wheelchairs and – in the case of a fire – he was a risk and a health and safety hazard.
Harborough MP Sir Edward Garnier wrote to Atos Healthcare, which is responsible for the service, demanding to know why Mr Foreman was treated poorly and inconvenienced – and why there is no disabled access at a building dedicated to medical assessment.
In its response, customer relations manager Brian Pepper explained that the organisation regretted the way Mr Foreman had been treated and the member of staff responsible would receive "feedback" from the centre manager.
Mr Pepper said: "I was very sorry to read about the upset both Mr and Mrs Foreman experienced as a result of their attendance at the Leicester Medical Examination Centre and wish to confirm that it is inappropriate for any of our medical centre administrators to behave in the manner in which they describe.
"For the safety of customers, the health and safety and fire evacuation procedures in the buildings that we use to carry out assessments mean we are unable to allow people into the building who use walking aids or have mobility problems unless they are able to exit the building using stairs in the event of an emergency.
"The majority of buildings we use are on the ground floor, but, unfortunately, the accommodation at Leicester is not."
Sir Edward had written: "As I trust you can understand, they are annoyed that they were not told about the wheelchair prohibition before they set off from Market Harborough.
"I can accept that there are certain places where, with the best will in the world, it is not possible to allow access to people in wheelchairs, but I find it extraordinary that an agency whose very purpose is to assess people with disability benefits claims does not have facilities to allow wheelchair access.
"It appears that your staff's attitude towards the Foremans leaves a great deal to be desired and their customer care needs improving considerably."
Charles' wife Karen said: "We're really grateful for Mr Garnier's involvement and want to thank him for highlighting the issue and getting our point across.
"I'm pleased that the company has admitted that there's a problem. Hopefully it will do something to correct it now."
