Government must take firmer grip of ‘inconsistent’ wheelchair services, says report

A new report backed by wheelchair-users has called on the government to take a firmer grip of the inconsistent provision of equipment through NHS wheelchair services in England. 

The report, commissioned by The Wheelchair Alliance*, follows years of concerns about the provision of inadequate wheelchairs by the NHS.

Wheelchair Provision: How to Drive Effective Change was launched at the House of Lords last week by the alliance’s president, Baroness [Tanni] Grey-Thompson, and it completes a trio of linked reports published in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The first two reports highlighted the issues disabled people experienced with wheelchair services, and the “false economy of providing wheelchairs that are not fit for purpose”.

The latest report makes a series of recommendations that aim to tackle “the postcode lottery, long waiting times, issues in the supply chain and ensuring that the voices of wheelchair users are heard”.

The researchers carried out 19 in-depth interviews with wheelchair-users about their experiences of wheelchair services, as well as conducting interviews with NHS and wheelchair sector professionals.

One of the wheelchair-users interviewed, Martin, said his wheelchair service assessment “didn’t address how [his] wheelchair would fit into his daily life” while “key sections of the assessment form, used to explore health and wellbeing aims, were left blank”.

As a result, his wheelchair “limits his ability to live independently and fully engage in activities that matter to him” and has “become more of an obstacle than a support”.

Another disabled person interviewed by the researchers, Kerry, said she had experienced “multiple problems with a slow and unreliable wheelchair maintenance service”, with her powerchairs breaking down multiple times over the last 14 years.

A third wheelchair-user, Paige, described the “chaotic” process she had to undergo from the wheelchair service which included an assessment that she saw as “a missed opportunity in finding a wheelchair that would fit her wider life”.

She was given a wheelchair that was “heavy, cumbersome, and impractical for her everyday life”, and which led to her returning it and instead using her own money to buy a wheelchair that better suited her needs.

Among the report’s recommendations, it says there should be a senior figure from NHS England appointed to oversee wheelchair services in England, while each NHS integrated care board (ICB) should have its own commissioner to plan, fund and contract for wheelchair services in their area.

It also calls for NHS England to define national eligibility criteria, based on “identified need, not on available funding”; for wheelchair-users to be “fully involved in service design, delivery and improvement”; and for NHS England to hold each ICB wheelchair commissioner to account over the service they provide.

It also recommends improvements to the retail sector to ensure there is “appropriate clinical input” in sales of wheelchairs.

And it says the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) should take a “more active role” in ensuring the “quality and efficiency of wheelchair services”.

The report says it is “essential” that these recommendations are incorporated into the NHS 10-year plan, which is due next spring.

Nick Goldup, Wheelchair Alliance’s chief operating officer and chair, said: “Recent news stories have shown us that wheelchair provision in this country needs to be improved.

“It needs to be made a priority by the government and NHS and someone needs to take ownership of wheelchair provision and lead it to a better place.

“At the moment, there is a ‘data desert’ in terms of demand for wheelchair services.

“Much of the data currently available is estimated, out of date and not comparable to form a local and national picture.

“We need a central, accountable body to ensure consistency, no matter the postcode.

“It is a basic human right that everyone who needs a wheelchair should get the right chair at the right time.

“By putting these recommendations in place, we can drive effective change together.”

The report was funded by Motability Foundation and produced by research companies Frontier Economics and Revealing Reality.

*The alliance campaigns for improvements to wheelchair provision in England, and aims to strengthen the voice of wheelchair-users, with its board and membership made up of wheelchair-users, commissioners, charity representatives and others with lived or professional experience and expert knowledge of wheelchair provision

Picture: Baroness Grey-Thompson and Nick Goldup with copies of the report

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