Any funding for a wheelchair?

hmf_2

I have ME/CFS which leaves me housebound mainly apart from being able to drive to local places occasionally but I then don't have the energy to be able to walk around a place for long and then spend days in bed recovering from the walking that I have managed to do.
I could not use a self propelled wheel chair because I also have pain and weakness in my arms. I assume that I need an electric wheelchair or scooter to be able to get out of the house more. Any advice appreciated on which is better? I would need to fit it in my car which is a clio so not very big.
Is there any funding available to help buy either an electric wheelchair or scooter? I'm currently appealing my pip decision so my incoming money is not enough to start saving up for this item at the moment.
Thank you.

poppy12345

hmf wrote: »

I have ME/CFS which leaves me housebound mainly apart from being able to drive to local places occasionally but I then don't have the energy to be able to walk around a place for long and then spend days in bed recovering from the walking that I have managed to do.
I could not use a self propelled wheel chair because I also have pain and weakness in my arms. I assume that I need an electric wheelchair or scooter to be able to get out of the house more. Any advice appreciated on which is better? I would need to fit it in my car which is a clio so not very big.
Is there any funding available to help buy either an electric wheelchair or scooter? I'm currently appealing my pip decision so my incoming money is not enough to start saving up for this item at the moment.
Thank you.

As far as i'm aware the only thing available for mobility scooter is the motability scheme but you have to be claiming high rate DLA or enhanced PIP for this. You can rent these scooters also for a monthly charge. You also said you have a small car. I really think you'd struggle getting one of these scooters into the boot of a Clio. I've had one of these cars and the boot is very small. You could self refer yourself to Occupational Therapist for this you'd have to contact your local Adult Social care team. They will come and assess you in your daily needs and supply you with what ever you need. This is free if you claim benefits. I think though that they would only supply you with a self propelled wheel chair. Most places these days though i have shop mobility where you can just go in and ask to loan one just for you to go and do your shopping. Some places charge a very small fee for this. You would have to check beforehand to see what forms of I.D is required. Other than that i think you'd struggle to find any where that would give you a free scooter or powered wheelchair.

kittykat17

My local, large shopping centre, has shopmobility. They charge £5 each time you use a scooter but if you join their scheme which costs £5 for the year then it costs £2 each time you hire one.


As far as ID goes they need to see either a driving licence or passport and a utility bill addressed to you with your address on.

Mojisola

kittykat17 wrote: »

My local, large shopping centre, has shopmobility. They charge £5 each time you use a scooter but if you join their scheme which costs £5 for the year then it costs £2 each time you hire one.

As far as ID goes they need to see either a driving licence or passport and a utility bill addressed to you with your address on.

Our local one insists on photo ID so an old-style driving licence isn't accepted.

zzzLazyDaisy

Be aware that electric scooters are heavy and difficult to manage in and out of a car for disabled people. I had one years ago, but it did not help me to maintain my independence as I had hoped, because I could only use it if there was someone else in the car to manhandle it for me. In my experience, Electric wheelchairs are even heavier and more awkward to handle.

LaneyJoArjun75

I’ll vouch for what zzzLazyDaisy said there, this is not necessarily a great step towards mobility unless you have someone there who is going to help you get out. Those things are very heavy and unless you really know what you are doing, chances that you will not get them in or out, especially with a smaller car like a Clio.

Better_Days

I'm in a similar position to you OP (I also have ME)

I started off with a lightweight manual wheelchair which I got cheaply from ebay. But like you I am unable to self propel. However it is handy if someone is available to push me around.

As I am in receipt of HRM I went to a mobility shop and tried out powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters. I found that the scooters weren't suitable as I get very tired, very quickly and found it an effort holding my arms up on the handlebars. A powered wheelchair was loads easier as one arm could rest on the armrest and the other could also rest on the armrest whilst using the joystick.

However, as has been pointed out a powered wheelchair is very heavy. We started with DH dismantling it every time we wanted to go out and putting into the boot of our little car. But even for someone fit and strong it was an effort. We sold our car and bought a Ford Courier van which had been converted with a ramp so you could just drive the wheelchair into the back of the van. But I hated it as the van itself was so bloomin' uncomfortable. Nonetheless it is worth exploring if you think changing car would help you - I bought ours through the local ads, and sold it on ebay, for a little bit of a profit much to my amazement.

5 years ago we got a motability car and paid to have a hoist fitted. This best suits our needs. There is space in the front of the car to put the seat back or for me to lie on the back seat if need be and also for the powered wheelchair to be put in the boot without giving DH a hernia. When the motability period ended we purchased the car, as it suits so well.

The people who fitted the hoist said that if you can get the wheelchair into the back of the car then a hoist can be fitted. We have to take the back and the armrests off the wheelchair but it does fit in.

The easiest solution for the timebeing would be to get a manual wheelchair for now - even though you will have to rely on someone to push you. Unfortunately as you know powered wheelchairs and scooters are expensive, but there are bargains to be had on ebay - search by distance nearest first. But before you go down that route I would advise you to take your car to somewhere that fits hoists for advice on whether it is feasible for your car. Mine was fitted via the dealership that I got my motability car through. So you could ring round some of the local car dealerships and see who they recommend. You could then also get an idea of costs.

One other thing - have you told the DVLA that you have a medical condition that affects your ability to drive? And your insurer? I wrote to the DVLA and filled in the neurological form (which was the nearest to ME) and explained that I only drove when I was well enough and my symptoms permitted. They were fine with this (although it took them over 6 months to get back to me)

GL with your PIP appeal - if you haven't already come across this website - Benefits and Work have some excellent detailed guides on claiming and appeals. You do have to pay for full access to the guides but in my view they are worth every penny.

Oh and a final thing.....when I got my powered wheelchair it was fab............at long last I was moving along at a reasonable speed. I hadn't realised at what a snails pace I had been achieving for years!! Do hope you get something sorted.

7roland8

Yes agree with Better Days. Yet another ME sufferer here too.


Used to have a medium scooter I would take out in a trailer - then all I did was lower the tailgate and use it as a ramp to get the scooter out. Now not up to that.


Have a lightweight one for hosp visits etc - but still too heavy for me to get into car on my own.


I have a larger one for around my village but that is too big to transport.


A good idea would maybe to visit a town with a mobility scheme - that is what I did with my young son before I had my own scooter - we wnet to the same town every week and I hired an old motorised wheelchair - got me round the shops ok though.


We were talking on another thread about really lightweight scooters and it seems that for those of use with ME who want tog et out on our own there is really nothing as we are so often too weak to lift much of anything.


Re DVLA - one insurer years back made me declare the illness but apart form being ack. nothing else happened.


Good luck with PIP. Don't know of any funding to help you - my small scooter was around the £500 mark new so you can get cheaper ones than the ones for thousands.

hmf_2

I emailed my car insurance company of my health problems ME to cover myself if they deny that I have had a telephone conversation regarding this. They said it wouldn't affect my policy but better to have evidence that you have informed them.
Thank you everybody for the great advice. I now understand why people normally choose a 4x4 or larger vehicle on the motability scheme for the space needed. Let's hope that I get the Higher rate of mobility then maybe a change of car could be an option.
Thanks.

7roland8

Yes never easy to sort out. If you have no one with you to lift the scooter you need a hoist fitted. I used to have a small trailer but you could only go certain places with large car parks and I never did master how to reverse with it! Just made sure I could always keep going forward or swing the car round in a circle!

hmf_2

I would be useless with any trailer lol...