"Exhausted after appointment with wheelchair services clinic"

I was referred by my GP early this year as the manual wheelchair I use leaves me completely dependent upon others to go anywhere.  I do have some movement in my legs but I become exhausted very quickly.  This referral went through the Occupational Therapist based at the GP practice who filled in and submitted a form and measured me for a possible chair.  The next I heard was a phone call followed by a letter dated mid August inviting me to attend the above clinic.  I did not know what the Clinic would entail but assumed it would be to find out what was available and what would suit me.

I did not take my wheelchair to the appointment because the map I was sent clearly (in red) indicates a large disabled car park, and I could get from vehicle to door as I was having a good day, which means for a short period of time I can walk unaided.  Of course the car park was the usual free-for all with no noticeable bays and certainly no blue badge in sight.  My husband stopped outside the door and assisted me into the Reception area, where I reported to the Receptionist whom I saw enter my arrival on her computer.  She informed me there would be some delay.

I sat for 40 minutes, by which time it felt like there were only a handful of staff left in the building (there was a board on the wall) and one other patient.  A member of staff in scrubs came into the waiting room and took a drink from the water cooler.  They glanced at me then went out again.  The Receptionist was still there.  Several minutes later I had a call on my mobile phone.  It was Wheelchair Services wanting to know why I had missed my appointment!  I was very taken aback by this and informed the caller that I had indeed been sitting waiting for quite some time, and yes I was sitting in the wheelchair clinic, yes I was in Broom House.  I found this very distressing, I was already tired and I had actually arrived early for my appointment.

The member of staff in scrubs from the water cooler had made the phone call and came out to me in the waiting room.  They looked at me rather askance and took me into a consulting room; it was 3.50pm by the waiting room clock.  I was introduced to a Doctor and another member of staff but I was feeling rather upset and confused and don't remember their details.  I noticed they were all looking at me in a slightly bewildered manner and felt that they didn't really know where to start.

The Doctor asked me why I thought I needed a motorized wheelchair in a manner reminiscent of a job interview so I shared how I am completely dependent on others to go anywhere. I was asked what I wanted from the appointment and they seemed to know nothing about me; I replied that I had no idea, I thought it was part of the referral process and didn't know what a Wheelchair Clinic was.  The doctor then explained that they do not provide motorised wheelchairs to anyone who is not paralysed (exact words) or cannot get around in the home.  At this point I became a little distressed.  The doctore continued to say that that GPs and OTs did not seem to have got the message implying that the fault lay there.  I was not asked about my condition and how it affects me so I was not able to explain about the days on end when I cannot move at all and have to be carried to the bathroom or when my legs give way with no warning.  I did not expect that I would have to justify myself or be judged because I was having a rare good day; when I can walk I will do it whilst it lasts.  No one looked at my notes.   No one made any positive suggestions as to where I could go from there.  My GP knows of and understands my difficulties and did not refer me lightly.

Two staff left the room to talk in the corridor and the other kind member of staff engaged me in conversation.  I explained that it had been the phone call that had upset me the most, after all the effort that it had taken me to be there.  The member of staff in scrubs came back perhaps having overheard me and tried to explain that they did not speak to me because I was not in a wheelchair so could not have been waiting for their clinic.  It occurred to me that my arrival had been registered by the Receptionist but I didn't feel up to mentioning this at the time.

They then suggested I might like to look at the wheelchairs on offer anyway, but I felt that would be somewhat pointless considering I would not be able to have one and just add insult to injury, and in my disappointment and continuing distress told them that I thought I'd better leave.  The kind member of staff assisted me outside to where my husband was waiting for me.

This experience left me physically and emotionally exhausted, feeling invalidated and humiliated.  I felt crushed by the idea that I wasn't disabled enough to be there, and my hopes that I might soon be mobile were dashed.  I have thought of little else since.  I have come to expect (though not accept) being treated as less than human by the DWP system; I didn't expect it to come from the NHS.

-  My GP and OT understood that there are stringent criteria for the wheelchair clinic and I object to the implication that they referred me unnecessarily, they know how ill I am.

-  Why was an appointment given to me in the first place if my referral and notes made no mention of me being paralysed?  (Being paralysed and not being able to walk or function are not the same thing).

-   The appointment was made by telephone, simple questions could have been asked to check my eligibility.

-   My arrival was registered with the Receptionist in Broom House.  Why did no one check whether I was actually really there or not?

-   I know of the huge parking difficulties at Raigmore but thought that a Wheelchair Clinic car park might have had extra signage or marked designated bays, but if there were it was impossible to tell as vehicles had been left all over the place.  Obviously the handful of staff and the 4 other patients I saw in Broom House would not have accounted for this.