The School of Medicine at University College Dublin (UCD) must commission an independent review of accessibility for students with physical disabilities. The requirement was included in a recent Medical Council accreditation report.
The School should commission an “independent review of the accessibility of its infrastructure”, stated the report. “This should be actioned within six months of the approval of this report.”
The Council report was based on an inspection in April 2026. It stated that accessibility “in some learning and teaching spaces was reported as being inadequate for some students with physical disabilities”.
Additionally, concerns were raised “regarding a lack of forward planning for various learning activities in relation to accessibility”.
“Management indicated during discussions that, once made aware of specific accessibility issues, they take steps to address them and endeavour to provide appropriate solutions.”
The School “actively advocates for their students’ needs”, according to the report. “The School of Medicine has linked with the UCD Access and Lifelong Learning office regarding putting reasonable accommodations in place (rooms, facilities, and clinical training sites used by students with accessibility issues). At times, it was reported that accessibility issues are not known until the student arrives at the location.”
The report also stated that School management “demonstrates a strong commitment” to the advancement of equality, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI). “Multiple students provided detailed accounts of excellent support services and reasonable accommodations.”
The management team “indicated that staff demonstrate a strong understanding” of the importance of EDI. There are also EDI student ambassadors present across clinical sites.
According to the report, the School should “increase awareness” of EDI and reasonable accommodations through developmental initiatives across the staff and faculty. “This should be implemented by September 2026.”
The report also included recommendations relating to the curriculum and timely feedback after assessments, among other areas. The final stage of the accreditation is due to take place in October.
Prof Patrick Mallon, Dean and Head of School, said it “will be working on implementing the Medical Council’s recommendations”. The School and the university “remain fully committed” to its EDI objectives for students and staff. See news feature, here.
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