Wheelchair Service petition

martianskies

Many here will be wheelchair users and I suspect many will have had a nightmare with their local NHS Wheelchair Service.

I know people will shout 'That's what DLA is for', but everyone has different needs whilst DLA High Rate Mobility is a fixed amount that goes nowhere near covering the cost of more complex wheelchairs as needed by the most disabled.

As a result, the health and very lives of the most disabled are being put at risk by a broken system. Slack NHS Wheelchair Services affect all users, but as it stands it's a deeply unfair system that punishes you more the greater your need.

Please discuss, sign and share!

I can't post links as a 'New User', so:

www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/nhs-wheelchair-services-nationwide-to-provide-complex-wheelchairs-to-everyone-with-need-for-them

Edited as I'm now trustworthy enough to post links ;-)

Brassedoff

martianskies wrote: »

Many here will be wheelchair users and I suspect many will have had a nightmare with their local NHS Wheelchair Service.

I know people will shout 'That's what DLA is for', but everyone has different needs whilst DLA High Rate Mobility is a fixed amount that goes nowhere near covering the cost of more complex wheelchairs as needed by the most disabled.

As a result, the health and very lives of the most disabled are being put at risk by a broken system. Slack NHS Wheelchair Services affect all users, but as it stands it's a deeply unfair system that punishes you more the greater your need.

Please discuss, sign and share!

What's broken?

Are you saying that everyone who wants one should get one, in the same way that anyone with a twitch in their toe, pain in the back or feeling down gets a Blue Badge?

I will admit that being a victim of the rules for getting one in the past caused an issue. But I appealed and got mine. My next one's being made at present and I am paying a fair wack for something way over and above what the NHS issues.

I don't understand and neither does your link really show what you are getting at?

If its everyone should get a wheelchair who wants one, well if you don't "fit" the required need you can always go and buy one. But those who get pushed around, use disabled spots, then jump out of the chair and walks when perfectly able will be seen and considered for what they are, a charlatan.

You should realise that using a wheelchair when not directed to by a specialist is dangerous to your health.

unsure

I'll read it and probably sign. I've recently had to try to engage with wheelchair services on behalf of my mother who has had a severe stroke. They've been abominable!

Staff are rude on phone and unhelpful and calls are not returned until days later after several attempts top speak to someone. Different family members have been given different advice from the same OT. We waited ages for an assessment and then they came chatted to my Mum, took no notes or measurements and wouldn't offer help or advice beyond a basic NHS transit chair ,which leaves my mother uncomfortable and at risk of pressure sores after a short while. Then they told us if we wanted better to talk direct to suppliers who'd have to do their own separate assessment --- and who, it turned out, would only work through NHS or Soc Svcs and would not sell direct to public! The whole thing has been a shambles.
We would have been better off ignoring them completely and just going to a random mobility shop on the High street for advice. And it would have been a hell of a lot quicker to get my Mum the provision she needs (and for which she will end up paying for herself). The whole service has been about as useful as a chocolate teapot. I'm tempted to say scrap the lot and just give people a voucher to use!
There may be good practice somewhere but I certainly haven't seen it yet!

Dunroamin

Brassedoff wrote: »

What's broken?

Are you saying that everyone who wants one should get one, in the same way that anyone with a twitch in their toe, pain in the back or feeling down gets a Blue Badge?

I will admit that being a victim of the rules for getting one in the past caused an issue. But I appealed and got mine. My next one's being made at present and I am paying a fair wack for something way over and above what the NHS issues.

I don't understand and neither does your link really show what you are getting at?

If its everyone should get a wheelchair who wants one, well if you don't "fit" the required need you can always go and buy one. But those who get pushed around, use disabled spots, then jump out of the chair and walks when perfectly able will be seen and considered for what they are, a charlatan.

You should realise that using a wheelchair when not directed to by a specialist is dangerous to your health.

Are you saying that only those who are totally confined to a wheelchair should use them and be considered disabled?

mazza111

Brassedoff wrote: »

What's broken?

Are you saying that everyone who wants one should get one, in the same way that anyone with a twitch in their toe, pain in the back or feeling down gets a Blue Badge?

Seriously, I wish I lived in the areas where people get them so easily, it's either HRM here or jump through hoops at the assessment.

martianskies

Brassedoff.

We have letters from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, an orthopaedic consultant, a senior (external) OT with 40 years experience all saying what is needed.

Then we have the local Wheelchair Service saying 'No, we only provide basic chairs, if you need something more complex and suitable for your disability, it's not our job'. The issue isn't FITTING the required need, the issue is EXCEEDING it and therefore falling outside of what they can offer.

What we're saying is: If there is a defined need for a certain type of wheelchair (a wheelchair isn't just a wheelchair), then that need should be met by the Wheelchair Service. Especially when there's overwhelming external medical evidence to back it up.

Clearer?

martianskies

unsure wrote: »

......... I'm tempted to say scrap the lot and just give people a voucher to use!
There may be good practice somewhere but I certainly haven't seen it yet!

Sorry you had a shoddy experience with your local Wheelchair Services too.

Some areas do offer vouchers. There's 151 wheelchair services nationwide, all doing their own thing. 10 miles down the road we could get a voucher towards the cost of purchasing a more suitable chair ourselves - in our postcode we can't.

In some postcodes you can get what you need, no matter your need, with very little delay. In others?......

You get the picture.

Dunroamin

mazza111 wrote: »

Seriously, I wish I lived in the areas where people get them so easily, it's either HRM here or jump through hoops at the assessment.

If you could jump through hoops, you wouldn't be eligible!;)

Seriously though, my husband had a simple 10 minute assessment for his with just a few questions to answer.

martianskies

Brassedoff wrote: »

You should realise that using a wheelchair when not directed to by a specialist is dangerous to your health.

How about when world-leading specialists in your disability who have known you for decades are directing that you require a certain wheelchair suited for your needs and that not having it is dangerous to your health and life - and then a locum in a local Wheelchair Service refuses to provide it because 'we don't do that'?

The issue isn't the patient putting their health at risk ignoring specialist's advice, the issue is Wheelchair Services putting patients' health at risk by ignoring outside specialist advice.

mazza111

Dunroamin wrote: »

If you could jump through hoops, you wouldn't be eligible!;)

Seriously though, my husband had a simple 10 minute assessment for his with just a few questions to answer.

My daughter didn't need an assessment due to having HRM, but I've seen others having to climb stairs, walk etc. Only the proverbial hoops


Wheelchair services work different in different areas, and it really is a postcode lottery.

GlasweJen

I was given one with no problems. Wanted a sportier model (for sports) and got help from a charity - now that was jumping through hoops!