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Care Opinion

Wheelchair repair not being available out of hours/ weekends

Posted By ddd

"Wheelchair repair not being available out of hours/ weekends"

About: WestMARC (Glasgow)

(as a service user),

I’m writing with regards to an issue that occurred when I was out of my power chair at the end of November 2022.

I rely heavily on the use of my power chair for everyday use due to my cerebral palsy. I am an active member of my community and the managing director of my own business, using my lived experience to assist and support others as well as assisting businesses and organisations to understand what inclusion is and what this looks like for them.

Although I am writing this letter from a personal perspective, I am also writing it as a way of highlighting the concern for powered wheelchair users across Scotland as WestMARC supply wheelchairs and maintain these for wheelchair users across the country.

I was enroute to a concert when my power wheelchair failed and wouldn’t work. I had one of my PAs with me however this left me in a vulnerable position, which led to me being stranded in Glasgow Central Station for over 3 hours until I managed to contact a friend who was able to bring my manual wheelchair to me and take my powered one home. It was just by luck that I was able to ask my friend for assistance, she could have had other plans, it was a Saturday night after all.

Due to the fact WestMARC do not currently provide an out of hours service for wheelchairs, if I hadn’t been able to ask my friend, I would have had no other option but to phone the police or fire brigade for assistance. On a Saturday in the middle of Glasgow, it would have been extremely unlikely that I would have been regarded as a priority, which would have led to a longer period of me being stranded. Legally other equipment disabled people like me must use daily is serviced on a regular basis, at least annually, but this is not the case for powered wheelchairs. Repairs are only carried out as and when required. I feel this is a health and safety issue. I realise that a regular service would not totally prevent the need for repairs, but it would reduce the risk a situation like the one I described above happening because faults would be more likely be detected earlier. Furthermore, in my view, WestMARC are currently acting unlawfully and not adhering to the Equality Act 2010. Therefore, I strongly feel that an out of hours repair service and an annual service on power wheelchairs should be provided by WestMARC as a matter of course. If WestMARC can’t help providing this directly then sub-contracting could be considered.

I would also like to highlight, that on the Monday morning when I phoned WestMARC to book a repair, I was faced with a member of staff who I found incredibly rude. I later found out that their systems had been down. Whilst I understand that this would have been stressful for a Monday morning, its no excuse for rudeness. I was advised that WestMARC don’t do emergencies to which I responded that if my wheelchair wasn’t repaired on Monday, I would lose wages as I wouldn’t be able to get to my work. Regardless of what individual situations are, WestMARC should be mindful that wheelchair users are often reliant on their wheelchairs, so whilst it may not seem like an emergency to those who answer the phone, it is to those who rely on their wheelchairs for their independence. A comparison might be that it feels the same to a non-disabled person who broke their leg and couldn’t get around easily as a result and was relying on others.

Based on what is outlined above, I would like to extend the offer of disability training to your staff who could learn from my lived experience. However, first and foremost, I would ask that you consider the points highlighted above and address this issue and improve WestMARC services for wheelchair users across Scotland.

I look forward to your positive response

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Responses

Response from Angela McLaren, Operational Service Manager, WestMARC, NHS GreaterGlasgow and Clyde 16 months ago
Angela McLaren
Operational Service Manager, WestMARC,
NHS GreaterGlasgow and Clyde

Submitted on 09/12/2022 at 11:53
Published on Care Opinion at 11:53

picture of Angela McLaren

Dear ddd

Thank you for your comments raised on Care Opinion. I was sorry to read of the inconvenience & worry this matter has caused you and do hope my response will provide some clarifity on the current position.

West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre (WestMARC) is a NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Service and is part of a consortium of 5 NHS mobility and rehabilitation centres which sit within Health Board regions. These are located in Aberdeen (NHS Grampian), Dundee (NHS Tayside), Edinburgh (NHS Lothian) and Inverness (NHS Highland) along with WestMARC (NHS Greater Glasgow. Collectively NHS Wheelchair and Seating Services

Currently, there are no out of hour services provided within any of the Health Board remits, however cover is provided Monday to Friday, core office hours along with Public Holiday cover for breakdowns and emergencies.

Due to the volume of power chairs prescribed, preventative planned maintenance is not an element funded by the Scottish Government at this time, however, we do provide our patients with a manual wheelchair should circumstance such as this arise. I do appreciate that in times of crisis this may not always be a good solution.

I would like to reassure you that WestMARC does work to our equality impact assessment under the Equality Act 2010 and always have a person/patient centred approach to delivering clinical care, within the auspices set down by the Scottish Government.

Our staff undergo regular mandatory training for equality, diversity and human rights and I apologise for your experience when telephoning the service. Our repairs are prioritised and depending on the complexity of the repair, a same day callout is not always achievable. This can be down to availability of parts which may need to be ordered or allocated resources.

Following the concerns you have highlighted, I have shared these with our Scottish Government Policy colleagues for consideration going forward.

Best wishes

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Update posted by ddd (a service user)

Dear Angela

Thank you for your response to my initial complaint regarding the fact that there is currently not out of hours service for wheelchair repair provided by westmarc. This concern specifically related to the situation that I was faced with when my chair broke down and left me stranded in Glasgow Central Station for over 3 hours. I note that you state that preventative planned maintenance is not something currently provided by westmarc and instead you provide patients with a manual chair. You then go on to state that you acknowledge that this is not a good solution.

However, it’s not the fact of whether it’s a good solution, it’s the fact that it is not a solution that’s the issue. Referring to the instance I was faced with, I was already out in Glasgow when my powered wheelchair failed. Therefore, I could not access my manual wheelchair as this was at home and as there is not out of hours service, I had no way of getting home to allow me to use my manual wheelchair. It’s not practical for a disabled person’s manual wheelchair to be expected to be the only solution, it’s impossible for a disabled person to be able to take their manual wheelchair as well as their powered wheelchair when they go out as you imply. As a disabled person myself I can reliably advise for a lot of disabled people it wouldn’t just be a case of taking my manual wheelchair with me even if this was possible. I would also have to take my stand-aid which I require to transfer, no disabled person should be expected to do this. It’s not practical or safe to expect staff to find a way of doing this nor should it be expected, that disabled people will always have support with them to allow them to do this.

As I previously stated, whilst I acknowledge that a regular maintenance of my powered wheelchair wouldn’t eradicate the risk of it breaking down, it would significantly reduce the risk. There is no getting away from the fact that every other piece of equipment I require to use to live my life receives regular servicing due to there being a significant health and safety risk if it is not. Therefore, there is a significant gap in the fact that this type of service does not currently exist for wheelchairs.

I also acknowledge that your point that westmarc work Monday-Friday as well as core public holidays, however I would like to refer back to the point that with this Monday-Friday constraint it is being assumed that disabled people only live Monday-Friday lives. I understand that you can’t always provide a same day repair however, there must be some flexibility around this. Again, using myself as an example I am the Managing Director of my own business supporting individuals and families who live with disability. If my wheelchair breaks down this has a significant impact on the support and services, my business provides. Non-disabled people who work and rely on their car to drive to work can arguably find an alternative way to travel if the situation arises where they are unable to use their car. However, someone like myself who doesn’t have 24-hour support and can’t independently move my manual wheelchair has no alternative but to potentially lose wages through no fault of my own and be resigned to my bed or chair and be stuck in the one position until someone is with me to assist me.

I realise that you can’t single handily change the funding that’s available, but you can be part of making a difference and driving change for the services that are available for disabled people and I am certain there will be a large number of disabled people facing challenges that would be happy to consult with you and your Scottish Government colleagues on this. Therefore, I would appreciate if you would share these views with the relevant people to be part of changing wheelchair service provision in Scotland.

I look forward to your positive response

kind Regards

ddd

Response from Angela McLaren, Operational Service Manager, WestMARC, NHS GreaterGlasgow and Clyde 16 months ago
Angela McLaren
Operational Service Manager, WestMARC,
NHS GreaterGlasgow and Clyde

Submitted on 27/12/2022 at 17:37
Published on Care Opinion at 17:37

picture of Angela McLaren

Dear ddd, since we last spoke in early December 22, I have raised your valid concerns around providing out of hours service with our Scottish Government planning colleagues.

Again, I sincerely apologise for your experience, I can only imagine how frightening this must have been for you being stranded having broken down.

I will keep you updated on developments.

Thank you again for taking the time to response and provide further insight.

Best wishes and regards

Angela

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