No Help from NHS

tiredmom

My daughter is nearly 11yrs old, has verbal dyspraxia, learning/social difficulties and pain in both feet when walking. We live in Malvern and have tried to get hold of a special needs buggy through our local NHS hospital without any luck. Also the specialist she see's is in Hereford and they can't supply a buggy because we are outside their catchment area !!! We need one urgently can anyone advise or help ??

skipsmum

We had to wait for DS to be seen in wheelchair services - 6 month wait. In the meantime we bought a major buggy on ebay and then sold it on when his wheelchair came through. DS couldn't walk at all at the time and they only had adult wheelchairs to lend.
Sorry can't be more help, but they do come up on ebay quite a lot as so many people do this.

Btw if she is average size for an 11 year old she may not fit the buggies anyway - DS is slightly small for his age (10) and grew out of it last year.

Mupette

what about Redcross, they loan out wheelchairs, for a donation.

find your nearest and see what they can offer

Corpsebride86

The trouble with loaning a full size wheelchair is that it could be the wrong size since the user is a child this is likely to be the case, this could lead to a poor sitting posture and your daughter moving around in the chair when the chairs in motion which could cause other health problems.

Wheelchair/ buggie users need to be supported and before getting chairs, measurements are usually taken i.e femur length, hip width etc.

Some mobility companies do hire out buggies (I know the one im on placement at does) some mobility shops also have ex demonstration ones which are sold cheaper than the RRP (these could be sold on when you have an NHS one)

and although not an instant solution there is the NHS Voucher scheme to get reffered to this you go through your GP.

if you want any more info I have posted the forum address that my placement uses on the disability forums thread (page 4 I think) since im not fully trained and im just telling you bits that ive managed to pick up you may find it beneficial to go on there and the experts i work with can better advise you and they have mobility contacts all over the uk so may be able to advise you on someone in your area (as we are in lancaster)

hope this helps

kirsty
xxx