Wheelchair Assesment ?

EycplUK

Could anyone explain to us what a wheelchair assessment involves in regard to providing a electric wheelchair ?
Briefly Missus has a manual wheelchair which I now find impossible to push for her as she has COPD & Arthritis which means she is dependent on a carer to propel her when out , I have spondoloysis in my spine , plus angina rears it`s head now & then so a electric wheelchair would be a boon for the Missus !
Do we refer through the Doctors ?
As registered carer should I approach them first ? (Social Services )
What steps should I take now ?
Any help will be gratefully received
Regards

M00minMama

I am lucky wnough to have an NHS indoor/outdoor electric whelchair so i hope i can help. Powerchairs are v difficult to get hold of via the NHS, however, not impossible if you meet their criteria

In general, getting an nhs powerchair approved for outdoor only use is unlikely these days .

Each area has their own wheelchair service But all have to meet minimum guidelines and v few go above and beyond these due to funding constraints. Please see link below designed for those who have to run a wheelchair service. This has much better information on how they decide which chair type to allocate, remembering their requirement is to offer you the cheapest option available to meet your needs - and don't forget to persevere through to appendix 5 to see how your wife's need will be prioritised!

http://www.wheelchairmanagers.nhs.uk/servicestandards.pdf

I found this gave me ideas for the sort of things I (and my carer OH) Needed to consider. For example, is your wife able to move round the house as needed when her COPD flares up? Eg does she struggle to reach the loo, can she reach a nebuliser machine quickly when Unwell on foot?. Does this effort worsen her breathing? Is she home alone a lot when unable to really move about? Is she v obese ? Please don't be offended by the suggestion! But if a patient is v obese it may affect their ability to self propel a chair and also affect your ability to move her round the home in a standard chair.

Re outside:
Where do you want to go? Just the local shops or further afield? These things can be huge and probable won't be collapsible for a standard car. Have you got space to store and charge the chair in your home when not in use? Again, these things are huge!

If you want to go ahead take a copy of why you think a powerchair would help your wife to your GP. The GP should give you a form or fill it in with you and will make the initial assessment as to what he/she thinks will best suit her needs- so the list can give them some understanding of the problems you are looking to solve. Feel free to add your own needs onto the list but realistically it is your wife's needs that should be predominant.

If your GP puts your wife forward fora Powerchair there's always a long wait for the next stage of assessment. The wheelchair service normally want to see the user in their own home to confirm GP initial assessment and to see if your home is suitable to take a chair inside, if adaptations are needed before a chair could be used, if the stated need such as using a powerchair to reach a bathroom is achievable (not possible if it's upstairs!).

If you get through this stage you are still in for a wait. Depending on your service you may be sent a manual wheelchair, an off the shelf powerchair ,have an existing powerchair adapted for you or have a new powerchair ordered especially for you. Any of these options will take weeks/months.

If your wife has an indoor only or indor/ outdoor chair delivered it will be set up for indoor use only to begin with so she can get used to using it indoors.

If it is an indoor/outdoor chair then onceyour wife has used itfor some weeks/months she can ask to be assessed to have the powerchair upgraded to outdoor use. This involves going back to the assessment centre with the chair and having a bit of a mini driving test. If you pass that then freedom!

Good luck with whichever way you want to proceed, feel free to ask me any other questions.

EycplUK

WOW !!! Thanks for the great response , the linked doc certainly gives food for thought ! we will start the process and await developments
Once again " Thanks "

Crisp_£_note

M00minMama I am blessed not to require a wheelchair at the moment but I just wanted to say after being curious and reading this post and your response was very educational. I think it will stay in that box at the back of my mind for future reference information. I often file stuff away in there and coincidently (or personally I believe in synchronicity) find someone needs such factual information along lifes path somewhere!
Thanks again and best wishes to you all keep well

sunnyone

M00minMama wrote: »

I am lucky wnough to have an NHS indoor/outdoor electric whelchair so i hope i can help. Powerchairs are v difficult to get hold of via the NHS, however, not impossible if you meet their criteria

In general, getting an nhs powerchair approved for outdoor only use is unlikely these days .

Each area has their own wheelchair service But all have to meet minimum guidelines and v few go above and beyond these due to funding constraints. Please see link below designed for those who have to run a wheelchair service. This has much better information on how they decide which chair type to allocate, remembering their requirement is to offer you the cheapest option available to meet your needs - and don't forget to persevere through to appendix 5 to see how your wife's need will be prioritised!

http://www.wheelchairmanagers.nhs.uk/servicestandards.pdf

I found this gave me ideas for the sort of things I (and my carer OH) Needed to consider. For example, is your wife able to move round the house as needed when her COPD flares up? Eg does she struggle to reach the loo, can she reach a nebuliser machine quickly when Unwell on foot?. Does this effort worsen her breathing? Is she home alone a lot when unable to really move about? Is she v obese ? Please don't be offended by the suggestion! But if a patient is v obese it may affect their ability to self propel a chair and also affect your ability to move her round the home in a standard chair.

Re outside:
Where do you want to go? Just the local shops or further afield? These things can be huge and probable won't be collapsible for a standard car. Have you got space to store and charge the chair in your home when not in use? Again, these things are huge! It depends on the size you need, my NHS powerchair is only a 16" seat so its not as big as most powerchairs and it has a back that folds down (the headrest comes off) but you do need a hoist/ramps and a people carrier/off roader or a WAV to transport them about

If you want to go ahead take a copy of why you think a powerchair would help your wife to your GP. The GP should give you a form or fill it in with you and will make the initial assessment as to what he/she thinks will best suit her needs- so the list can give them some understanding of the problems you are looking to solve. Feel free to add your own needs onto the list but realistically it is your wife's needs that should be predominant.If they already have a NHS manual wheelchair I would skip the GP and just ask for a reassessment of your needs from wheelchair services, it will be much quicker and you should go straight to stage one in my area which is normally a face to face assessment with a senior wheelchair therapist where they will decide whether you fit the initial criteria for a powerchair. This is when you put forward the reasons why you should be considereded for a powerchair, your health needs, your carers health needs and a talk through of the other two assessment stages.
Stage two is a home visit, your house must be adapted for a powerchair or you fail, this is where most people fall fowl of the rules.
Stage three is a visit to the DSC (disabled services center) to try diffrent powerchairs and test drive them to prove that you are safe to use one, you can't be epilectic or have serious sight issuses, you then decide which powerchair you want from the ones available within the funding that you have been allocated. The chair is ordered within a few days and the only waiting is the time for the chair to be made/delivered
You keep your manual chair too as a spare

If your GP puts your wife forward fora Powerchair there's always a long wait for the next stage of assessment. The wheelchair service normally want to see the user in their own home to confirm GP initial assessment and to see if your home is suitable to take a chair inside, if adaptations are needed before a chair could be used, if the stated need such as using a powerchair to reach a bathroom is achievable (not possible if it's upstairs!).

I didnt wait very long at any stage, the 'chair was even delivered a month early

If you get through this stage you are still in for a wait. Depending on your service you may be sent a manual wheelchair, an off the shelf powerchair ,have an existing powerchair adapted for you or have a new powerchair ordered especially for you. Any of these options will take weeks/months.

If your wife has an indoor only or indor/ outdoor chair delivered it will be set up for indoor use only to begin with so she can get used to using it indoors.

If it is an indoor/outdoor chair then onceyour wife has used itfor some weeks/months she can ask to be assessed to have the powerchair upgraded to outdoor use. This involves going back to the assessment centre with the chair and having a bit of a mini driving test. If you pass that then freedom!

Good luck with whichever way you want to proceed, feel free to ask me any other questions.

It is rare to get a outdoor only 'chair from the NHS, there is limited funding so they want the chairs to go to those who need them the most.

You have to insure your NHS powerchair yourselves, they told me the replacement cost for mine was £4,500 so that is what it's insured for.