Motorised wheelchairs

White_musk

This is not strictly benefit related but does involve someone who receives PIP and ESA.

There is a lady who belongs to a group I go to now and then who really needs a motorised wheelchair. Social Services have offered her an indoor version but that would mean not being able to use it out of her home, to be honest, with grab rails and furniture placement, she doesn't really need one indoors.

She has managed to save around £500 to purchase a chair but can't seem to find anything. Using her own words she has a "rather large beam" so needs a wider than standard chair. Her home is fully adapted to take a wheelchair, it's just the finding one that is proving difficult.

Would any of you lovely, helpful and knowledgeable people have any idea where she could get a motorised chair to meet her needs on her limited budget?

Many thanks.

sevenhills

White_musk wrote: »

She has managed to save around £500 to purchase a chair but can't seem to find anything. Using her own words she has a "rather large beam" so needs a wider than standard chair. Her home is fully adapted to take a wheelchair, it's just the finding one that is proving difficult.
Many thanks.

https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/wheelchairs/electric-wheelchairs/energi-electric-wheelchair-xtra-wide-black


£500 is not a lot of money when wanting a specialist wheelchairr.

poppy12345

I agree, she'll need a lot more more than £500. If she claims Income Related ESA for at least 6 months she could have a budgeting loan from DWP. How much she could have will depend on her circumstances and it does have to be repaid back and will be take weekly from her ESA. It won't be enough to get her the wheelchair but it will help increase it.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Budgeting-Loan-Advance/How-much-Budgeting-Loan-Advance-will-I-get#guide-content


She also needs to be careful ordering a specialist chair like this on the internet because she really should see if it's suitable for her first and whether it's comfortable. You can't do this buying online.

sevenhills

The Motability Scheme can help if you want to hire or buy an electric wheelchair. It allows some people to use their benefits to pay for a wheelchair.



https://www.motability.co.uk/

White_musk

I knew I could rely on the people here to help. I'll take all the information and give it to her. I know £500 is not a lot of money for a specialist chair. The problem is, she uses a lot of her benefits to pay for care so finds saving difficult.

Many thanks again all.

Cyclamen

There are lots of questions she needs to ask herself.

How will she use the chair? does it need to go in a car/taxi and if so are there suitable vehicles. (until recently we didn't have accessible taxi's here).
What sort of terrain will she use it over?
Where will she charge it.. if inside will the chair fit through doors etc?
Would a mobility scooter be better (cheaper but can be harder on arms)
What seating support does she need.. headrest, raised foot rest, tilt, recline etc?
What distance does she want to go.. the value stated is for an average size person, using a new full battery, on flat ground in normal temperatures.. all of those affect the distance.

You can get soe great chairs used on ebay.. but budget new batteries.. sadly some chairs don't get used very much before owners too poorly to need them.

It's worth visiting a few shops to see what is available.. but i rarely buy from shops as they are usually more expensive. The salesmen may also never have used a wheelchair.. this from a big company rep that visited my home.. he told me he'd never sat in chair..so i've no idea how he tought he could answer questions. They also tend to sell the models they are familiar with not all the available options.

It is worth checking with wheelchair services that they don't offer another chair. It is pretty standard (but a postcode lottery) for a bigger beast of a chair to be offered if you need a chair inside and outside, in the areas I am my friends live in they offer a mainl indoor or an indoor/outdoor.

good luck.. there is so much to learn when choosing chairs