Wheelchair Cost.

[badbackjonny]

Hi all. I

I hope someone can help me with this. I have got a voucher for a wheelchair but it is only for £280. The chair I have at the moment cost around £1,000. It is starting to fall apart so I need a new on. The problem is the cost. To get one that's suitable will be in the £1,400 range. I don't have that kind of money. They sending me to get assessed to see if I'm eligible for a bigger voucher. Does anyone know what this entails?

Thanks

J.

[Bananas5]

Why did they give you voucher for £280? Was this based on your income from certain benefits? If you know this we can probably work out how much they will, maybe, increase that amount.

Pat x

[earthwitch in reply to Bananas5]

That is the standard voucher amount for a basic NHS active user self propel chair. If you accepted the chair, rather than the voucher, then it would be the equivalent of an Invacare Action 2 or similar. To get more, you have to be eligible for an "energy efficient active user chair", and that is about both how much you use a chair, and how disabled you are. The higher level is generally not available to anyone who doesn't require a chair full time indoors and out.

[Hidden]

Try the Occupational Therapist. Ask your GP for an assessment, they will supply a standard lightweight one generally at no cost, if in the UK

They will also check through your kitchen, bathroom and bedroom to see if you need additional equipment that will make life easier for you

BOB

[badbackjonny in reply to Hidden]

I have an appointment in the new year to see my OT in the new year. That's for an assessment. We just have to see what they say.

[earthwitch]

That £280 would be the voucher for what they call an "active user chair", which is the basic NHS self propel chair (an Invacare Action 2 or similar). If you want a higher level of voucher then you need to meet the criteria for an "energy efficient active user chair". It will be an assessment by wheelchair services looking at what kind of chair best suits you, and whether you can use it independently, but they will be also checking your eligibility for an "energy efficient active user chair". Different regions have different criteria for these, but if you are eligible, then you will get a bigger voucher. In my region you have to pretty much be using the wheelchair the whole time for mobility, both indoors and outdoors, and you have to be able to be independent with the chair (i.e. not relying on someone pushing you). You also have to be able to show that you are going to be stable in a much lighter weight, more compact (and potentially less balanced) chair and that you are able to self propel in it independently. Also that your home and the area you would intend to use the chair are suitable for wheelchairs - so you wouldn't be likely to get one if your home was totally not wheelchair suitable, or if you didn't have good enough access or paths in your neighbourhood (or places you usually go) to get your chair out of the house and actually use it. This level of chair is mostly intended for people with the likes of severe spinal cord injuries or other permanent and severe disability who are fulltime chair users, rather than someone who only uses a chair some of the time. I wasn't eligible as I am not a full time chair user and don't require it in the house.

The other way you can get funding towards an energy efficient lightweight chair is if you are working, when Access to Work can sometimes part fund a chair if you require it to be able to keep working. That is how I got money for mine, though they do only part fund and you still have to pay for the rest (which can be quite a lot). You also have to use your NHS voucher first as well, and you have to be able to convince Access to Work that a lighter weight chair will enable you to be independently mobile for work. In my case, they are helping because although I had a basic NHS wheelchair which I needed to use to get to places I worked at (too far to walk), I couldn't do my work independently because the NHS wheelchair was too heavy for me to get out of the car on my own, and too heavy and hard for me to self propel for the distances I needed to do - therefore I met the criteria for the lightweight chair helping me maintain independent working. I did do a lot of searching to see if there were any other grants or funds that would pay for adult wheelchairs, but couldn't find anything around, and I still had to come up with £500 myself even after the Access to Work funding.

I don't know where you live, but this link gives the criteria for energy efficient active user chairs in Scotland: smart.scot.nhs.uk/wp-conten.... I would think it would be fairly similar elsewhere.

Have you actually considered just accepting an NHS chair? It is definitely worth seeing what they would offer first before you decide to buy your own. You will be properly measured up to get a chair that fits you, and then they maintain them and replace every five years, and will reassess you at your request if your needs change. I did hear someone say that the higher voucher is still only around £900 so you could still be quite a lot short of what you need to replace your current chair.