Disabled children in England wait months for electric wheelchairs
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has collected information that shows that children can wait on average 5 months before getting their powered wheelchairs. It did not matter where the child lived and in fact families living blocks apart could see months difference in their wheelchair delivery. Primary Care Trusts (PCT) control the whole aspect of children getting wheelchairs, and this is where many of the problems come from. PCT’s don’t do a good job of pointing charities to children and send wrong data to charities, slowing down the process. Several cases were stopped cold when the PCT said the wheelchair was $2000 where it was really $3000. The difference in price made sure that the chair could not be purchased unless the parents came up with the difference.
There must be oversight on agencies that are responsible le for life changing equipment or medicine. It is sad that a child must be stuck in bed for months because an agency appears to have incompetent workers. Screwing up pricing so agencies that purchase wheelchairs are guaranteed to never be able to give the full amount is insane. Why give an amount that is less than the selling cost? Most of the parents of these children have spent their savings in medical bills and other costs and do not have the money for an expensive wheelchairs. They are depending on charities to help pa for the wheelchairs and those charities are willing to pay for the full amount. Why stick the parents for a third of the cost of the chair when it is unnecessary? Maybe the parents should be given money from the government and let them work with the charities to pay for the rest?
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Hi,
this discovery is sad. Both in the time frame and in the cost of chairs. We can provide used wheelchairs in good to like new condition for half the cost. if anybody is intrested please email Spinal Cord Resources Network so they can forward the message.
This kind of activity waiting etc cost and heartache and disappointment by needy people is exactly why we have begun to offer powered wheelchairs for much less.
Thanks.