Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

Hannah McDonald was sectioned before starting a nursing shift in 2008, with her uniform in her bag.Diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, she believes she suppressed the grief she felt for three friends who died suddenly when she was a child.It caught up with her years later when she was working as a nurse - she stopped sleeping, eating, started to self -harm, and had suicidal thoughts. She spent nearly 10 years in acute mental health units and a therapeutic community. At times she felt she’d lost everything but Hannah always knew she wanted to return to nursing.Twelve years on she has successfully returned to work as a hospice nurse. But no one could have predicted her first day would be the day the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a global pandemic.It’s not just caring that Hannah has a talent for, as a keen embroiderer she also got a call-up to work on the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress. But when she revealed to a nurse what she’d been doing, they presumed she was delusional! Hannah speaks openly about the past 12 years and as such topics such as self-harm and suicide arise.Presented by Beth Rose.Subscribe on BBC Sounds or say “Ask the BBC for Ouch” to your smart speaker.

Kate has spent over six weeks in isolation and is trying to manage the symptoms of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and raise three-year-old daughter Scout. Her wife Holly is on immunosuppressants and has to shield for 12 weeks but is now going stir-crazy while Scout is becoming clingy and eating significantly less since lockdown started. Kate weighs up all their mental and physical needs. Produced by Amy Elizabeth - email amy.elizabeth@bbc.co.uk to get a message to Kate and Holly. Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Swinbourne has plenty to keep him busy during lockdown as he develops storylines for deaf characters with EastEnders and Casualty.He reveals what it's like to be deaf at a time when everyone is social-distancing and where mouths are covered by masks, making lip-reading impossible.The writer and journalist also talks about the hashtag #WhereIsTheInterpreter which raised awareness of the fact sign language interpreters do not appear at the daily British government briefings. The hashtag has now morphed into a crowdfunding project to take the government to court using equality laws but Number 10 says it provides signers via the BBC News Channel.Beyond politics we head to soap-land to get the scoop on Charlie's TV projects and, if you're thinking of giving writing a try, he has some top tips to get you started and keep you going.Presented by Simon Minty and Beth Rose.Subscribe on BBC Sounds or say “Ask the BBC for Ouch” to your smart speaker.

Five weeks into isolation, Kate and Holly embark on something more daunting than tracking down a supermarket delivery slot - their first amateur home haircut. Kate's discomfort from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome intensifies due to her endometriosis, but any hope of alone time is impossible when isolating with a three-year-old. Holly is on immunosuppressants and admits she hasn't packed a hospital bag, as recommended by the NHS, for fear of 'tempting fate'. Can Kate persuade her otherwise? Produced by Amy Elizabeth. Email amy.elizabeth@bbc.co.uk to get a message to Kate and Holly. Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

Coronavirus is making itself known globally, so Cabin Fever thought it too would hot-foot it around the world to see how disabled people are managing.Lee Kumatat left the UK on 2 January for a brand new life in San Francisco, USA. Three months later we find her trying to live in lockdown in an unfamiliar city with a guide dog....and Pip, the cat she adopted a week ago. Holly Lane in Perth, Australia is doing her best not to touch anything but says that's surprisingly hard when she's "stumbling" about all day on the sticks she uses. Being a person with cerebral palsy, she has to hold onto things around her to keep her balance. She's also cashing in on newly-discovered energy stores after cutting out her three hour commute by working from home.Presented by Emma Tracey. Produced by Beth Rose.Subscribe on BBC Sounds or say “Ask the BBC for Ouch” to your smart speaker.

Week four in isolation is proving frustrating for Kate and her family - Kate has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome whilst wife Holly is on immunosuppressants, and so is classed as high risk. Kate is disappointed with a lack of empathy towards disabled people during the COVID-19 crisis. Mummy guilts are setting in with worries that three-year-old daughter Scout may be picking up on household anxiety, whilst Holly is frustrated with Kate and her untidy Lego obsession. The community finds innovative ways to stay connected, but is anyone else going a little bit mad trying to sign in to all these online play dates and group activities? Email producer amy.elizabeth@bbc.co.uk to get a message to Kate and Holly. Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

Beth and Ellen had been enjoying their moment in the spotlight as the Diabetic Duo when coronavirus came along.The type 1 diabetics had become known for their videos on the social media platform TikTok and dispelled myths around the condition, but the current pandemic and self-isolation has meant they’ve had to get creative with how they make their content.In this episode of Cabin Fever the duo reveal why diabetes is classed as High Risk in relation to Covid-19, how their emotions affect their blood sugar levels and their recent obsession with tie-dye loungewear. This week's presenters are having quite different quarantine issues. Simon Minty is a little person and says that had a stranger turned away from him in the street he would have taken it badly a few weeks ago - now it's positively welcome! And Emma feels liberated by lockdown. As a blind mum she says her house and garden are her “castle” and being at the home she knows so well means she can run about and play with her young boys independently. Produced by Beth Rose.Subscribe to Ouch on BBC Sounds and say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

As a recipient of a kidney transplant, Kate's wife Holly falls within the high risk category, so together they are spending their third week in strict isolation. Kate, who has mobility difficulties, admits to feeling guilty she can't do more to help her community or to entertain their daughter Scout. This week's highlight is The Food Delivery which creates both euphoria and a bit of a household debate. Is anyone else disinfecting every single item before allowing them into the kitchen? Plus Kate and Holly introduce a new podcast feature they call Isolation Issues - a game which will unite (or divide) households across Britain. Produced by Amy Elizabeth Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

At the start of this year, 2020, barely three months ago, we all said it was going to be the year we'd all nail it. New job, getting married, holiday-of-a-lifetime, kicking any low confidence in the face, the works. Then coronavirus came along. So, now all your plans have been shelved, how do you cope with the uncertainty when you’re also just starting a new career?Blind YouTuber and freelance journalist Lucy Edwards was all set to present for Radio 1 and get married this summer, then both got cancelled, along with a calendar full of paid jobs. And while Ellis's first shift in his new job for the World Service was taken over by a small virus in a Chinese city called Wuhan, he never expected to be moving back to The Wirral and taking up hand-cycling when that virus went global ... and he also didn't imagine he’d have to school his 81-year-old grandma in the use of FaceTime.Presented by Beth Rose.Subscribe to Ouch on BBC Sounds and say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

Kate and Holly digest the latest instructions on how to keep safe against coronavirus - for them it means staying in isolation for longer than 12 weeks. Awkward conversations happen at bath-time about how much they should tell their three-year-old daughter Scout when one of her mums is put in the High Risk category.And, determined to bring people together from a distance, their neighbours find a way to lift everyone's spirits while Kate reveals how to make stale doughnuts fresh again so you can comfort eat with food you might have thrown away - BBC public service at its best, you're welcome.Subscribe to the podcast on BBC Sounds or say to your smart speaker "Ask the BBC for Ouch