Disability organisation Purple has claimed that health club operators and gyms are losing "millions of pounds of revenue" every year by "turning their backs on disabled consumers", with design and architecture and access some of the areas most in need of improvement.

Purple is basing its view on a poll of 500 disabled people, conducted ahead of Purple Tuesday – an international event taking place on 12 November which focuses on changing the customer experience for disabled people.

More than half of the 500 respondents to the survey said they were "struggling to make purchases of a product/service" due to their condition.

Only 2 per cent of those interviewed said gym businesses are the "most accessible" to purchase from. Barriers highlighted by the research include inaccessible and unusable locations, poor customer service and a lack of understanding about disabilities.

"While many UK businesses and organisations are stepping up to the mark and making the changes needed to improve disabled customers’ experiences, far too many are not," said Mike Adams CEO of Purple.

“It should simply not be the case that one in two disabled people struggle. Small changes can make a big difference to the customer experience; we want to help organisations have the confidence to improve their services for disabled people.”

It is estimated that there are more than 13 million disabled people in the UK – a fifth of the population.

• To find out more about the poll, click here.

Are gyms catering for disabled people?

New CMO guidelines: any exercise is good for you

Report calls for increased opportunities for mixed ability sport