Row Over Wheelchair Funding Plans

Managers of Scotland’s wheelchair services have threatened to pull out of talks over its future unless there is a commitment for more funding. A recent review of the NHS Wheelchair and Seating Service said funding for it should be doubled to £30m a year.

But the Scottish Executive has pledged only a one-off payment of £1m. BBC Scotland has learned the service has refused to commit to any further discussions with the executive unless there is a promise of extra resources.

Services for Scotland’s 96,000 wheelchair users have been under review since 1982. Staff say the service has been under-funded for even longer. The latest review, commissioned last year by the executive, recommended a doubling of the budget. Managers claim this means they can only give out the most basic wheelchairs – which are so heavy and unwieldy that many people are left prisoners in their own homes.

Dr Geoff Bardsley, the head of Tayside’s Seating & Wheelchair Service, said the basic wheelchair cost £120 but some of the more complicated powered chairs could cost more than £5,000. He has an average budget of £166 per person.

The manager of wheelchair services based in Inverness, Andy Menzies, was not impressed by the extra £1m from the health minister. He said: “An additional £1m will help a little. It is short-term. It is not going to be repeated. It is difficult to plan on that and in our particular case in Inverness it probably amounts to about £50,000.”

In a letter to the executive, the manager who oversees the entire service describes it as one of the oldest fleets of chairs in Western Europe.