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Children endure seven-month wait for wheelchairs

By Lauren Higgs Tuesday, 26 July 2011

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Hundreds of disabled children are being forced to wait more than seven months to be assessed and provided with the mobility equipment they need, an investigation by CYP Now has revealed.

CYP Now survey of primary care trusts has revealed that hundreds of children face long delays to be assessed and receive mobility equipment. Image: PA Photos

Figures obtained through freedom of information (FOI) requests sent to all 151 primary care trusts (PCTs), and answered in full by 40 areas, show that 451 children had to wait between eight and 12 weeks to be assessed for wheelchair or specialist seating following their initial referral to the service, while 786 had to wait more than 12 weeks.
A further 358 children had to wait between 12 and 16 weeks to receive equipment following assessment and 504 had to wait more than 16 weeks.
This means that some children are potentially waiting more than three months to be assessed and a further four months to finally receive their equipment. If those figures were replicated nationally, it would mean almost 3,000 children wait more than three months to be assessed every year, while 3,300 have to wait more than three months to receive their equipment, almost 2,000 of which wait more than four months.

The charity Whizz-Kidz estimates that the scale of the problem is far greater, arguing that up to 70,000 children in the UK are waiting, since equipment is often unsuitable when it is eventually provided.

Ruth Owen, chief executive of Whizz-Kidz, said CYP Now's investigation corroborated anecdotal evidence from families. She added that the results reflect the fact that some PCTs are either unwilling to share information on their children's wheelchair services or do not gather robust data. Although 80 trusts responded to CYP Now's request, only 40 of those provided complete data.
"There will be many disparities between different PCTs, both for waiting times for assessment, and then the subsequent wait between assessment and equipment delivery," she said. "There is also the question as to whether the equipment was the right equipment for each child's needs."
Kevin Williams, chief executive of the disabled children's charity Kids, said waiting a long time for mobility equipment can have a severe impact on children.
"If a child needs a wheelchair but has to wait six months or more for it, that's a heck of a long time in a child's life," he said. "It means that their access to things that their non-disabled peers take for granted will be hindered. And it's not the same as six months for an adult - six months in a child's life are really important in terms of their development".
Srabani Sen, chief executive of Contact a Family, said her charity frequently hears from parents of children who have grown out of their wheelchair before they actually receive it.
"It is a fundamental right that children are able to get around and do the things they want to do with friends and family," she said.
Sen warned that cuts to NHS budgets risk worsening the situation over the coming years. "We urge NHS managers to prioritise this very important area of work," she said.
Last week, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced that children's wheelchair services will be one of the eight areas in which patients will be able to choose the provider best-placed to meet their needs from April 2012.
Owen claimed the plans to open up children's wheelchair services to competition could help transform the lives of disabled children. "This offers a real opportunity to extend the improvements to wheelchair provision that Whizz-Kidz has developed with its existing NHS partners," she said.
Meanwhile, the full results of a Care Quality Commission review into support for disabled children and their families are expected this autumn.


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