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Duncan Haughey
DUNCAN Haughey, who died recently aged 62, was a disability activist who had a significant influence on policies relating to disabled people and carers beyond just his native Yorkshire.
Born Thomas Duncan Haughey in 1945 in the Holme Valley, he lived in and around the Holmfirth area all his life. His ambition as a young man was to join the Parachute Regiment but a week before he was to embark on his military career, at the age of just 17, he broke his neck in a tragic accident while coming home from a night out with friends.
He spent the next 18 months in Wakefield's Pinderfields Hospital, eventually coming home to his new life as a wheelchair user. To help fill those early days Duncan took up painting and attended Holme Valley Technical College where his tutor – a young Ashley Jackson – helped him discover a natural talent which gave him a purpose and pleasure he enjoyed throughout his life.
Life as a disabled person in the 1960s wasn't easy. There was little chance of working for a living and state benefits were totally inadequate. His own personal experiences led him to become a member of DIG – the Disability Income Group – which campaigned for improved benefits for people with long term disabilities.
It was probably through DIG that Duncan found his true calling. His sense of injustice saw him increasingly campaigning for a better life for himself and thousands of other disabled people. During the 1970s and 1980s Duncan regularly contributed to the development of Kirklees Council's policies through his lay involvement advising its social services committee.
He was involved in starting Huddersfield's Crossroads scheme, supporting carers, and was an active member of Huddersfield Community Health Council, latterly as its chairman.
In 1989, he joined Wakefield Metropolitan District Council as its access officer, with the task of making local buildings and services accessible to disabled people.
He was developed many policies which would increase opportunities for those with limited mobility, challenging those responsible for services to look differently at how they regarded and provided for the disabled.
His advice was frequently sought by both local and national politicians and he directly influenced Labour's proposals in the 1990s on the introduction of direct payments enabling those with care needs to obtain their own services.
Duncan had studied earlier in his life for an Open University degree and his fluency with the written word was further evidenced in 2006 when his book The Night's Circle was published.
Although a fictional work relating the stories of several disabled patients and their nursing staff, it was very much a reflection on Duncan's own sometimes less than satisfactory experiences of hospital care and an essential read for anyone entering the caring professions.
Duncan loved the arts, music, good food, an after-dinner cigar, sharing these with friends and talking long into the night.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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