Sarah needs a new wheelchair. There are two criteria (i) that she maintains her mobility, moving herself around independently and (ii) some form of support to help her sit up straighter. Shouldn't be difficult, should it, you'd think.
Well, I'll not go into the details but have a read of someone else's experience. Read Chris Whittaker's account of what his wife Fran faced.
Getting a wheelchair that is fit for purpose: Mission Impossible?
"Fran’s wheelchair is quite literally the centre of her world. Without it she would be unable to get out of bed, go to the toilet, leave the house and do her job…it is her passport to the world. Because it is used every day, from time to time, it needs replacing. To do this, we have to go through an assessment process. It is this process that will be the subject of that blog."
Fran needs special wheels - and that's the problem. Actually, that's not a problem at all. The problem is engaging with the wheelchair assessment and byzantine policies and language of the high priests of wheelchair assessment.
Anyway, Fran didn't get her special wheels and went to appeal.
Appeal Rejected: Our Wheelchair Woes Continue
"Today we found out that our appeal for Fran’s e-motion wheels has been rejected. This despite a letter from Fran’s GP, OT and the Wheelchair Service themselves. The reason for this is that the criteria for ‘exceptionality’ has not been met. I won’t rehearse that exceptionality criteria here, but suffice to say that all the clinically qualified professionals who had written in support of Fran’s case were confident it did."
So the outcome of the appeal has to be appealed:
"The next step? Another appeal. The next step after that? Another appeal. Both appeals heard by the same panel."
And then, the full gobbledegook. The worst of which is the utter demonstrable failure to understand cerebral palsy.
Wheelchair latest: The most unhelpful response ever?
"We’re still struggling to make headway with Fran’s wheelchair. It is difficult to do this due to lack of clarity on what exactly is required by way of evidence for the appeals process, and a process which itself it both fundamentally flawed and hopelessly outmoded. "
".... a process which is not fit for purpose and fails to meaningfully understand the people it is there to serve."
What a dread, dead phrase that is: "... fails to meaningfully understand the people it is there to serve.." And so we approach yet another wheelchair assessment for our daughter. The independent social worker whom we engaged to act on our daughter's behalf two and a half years ago following the closure of the ILF has finally conceded defeat and proposed we instruct a solicitor, which we did last week. There is a fundamental, systemic and chronic failure in adult care that goes beyond austerity and cuts - a failure "to meaningfully understand the people it is there to serve".