The continuing saga of my electric wheelchair

I have to use a wheelchair for most journeys outside of my home and car. Because I do not need one inside the home I do not qualify for any help at all from Worcestershire Wheelchair Services even though an NHS occupational therapist has agreed that I need it, and I get High Rate Mobility Allowance and a Blue Badge for parking because of my inability to walk. I use my DLA to lease a Motability car and I bought my own manual wheelchair which I can only self-propel about as far as I can walk.

I would benefit greatly from an electric wheelchair because at the moment I require someone to push my wheelchair. With an electric wheelchair I would be able to visit places without my wife. My wife intends to go back to work and I won’t be able to go anywhere without her that requires walking more than few metres from my car. Even the medical appointments will be difficult.

After all the drama detailed in previous blog posts here, here and here I applied to a local charity that provides grants for people in and around the area including helping with mobility. They aren’t a disability charity and so they don’t have a great understanding of my problems. They seem convinced that because they have purchased mobility scooters for several people with my illness, that I should be able to get buy with a scooter too instead of an expensive electric wheelchair. My correspondence with them has dragged on for months since I first applied. When I first looked at a suitable chair to obtain a quote I asked about a second controller which would enable an attendant to operate the chair if I were too exhausted to. (This can happen after a long day.) The charity administrator immediately panicked on seeing this in the quote and demanded that I get my doctor to write a letter saying that I could safely operate a power wheelchair. This despite the fact that I drive a car! I had the second controller removed from the quote anyway when I realised that it cost about £500 extra but they still insisted. Obtaining that letter took three months, after which I was sent another letter which I detail here.

I did contact my NHS Occupational Therapist but she declined to provide such a report. I have no idea where to go to pay for a report or if that is suitable so this is where it has stopped for the last two months. I have already considered and tested mobility scooters. They are unsuitable for several reasons:

1. My size 12 feet do not fit within the footplate of the more affordable smaller scooters and instead sit awkwardly across different levels of the scooter.
2. The seats on all the scooters that I have tried do not give enough support to my back, leading to pain.
3. Stretching my arms out to the handlebars puts pressure on my wrists leading to increased pain, and using the arm rests causes me to slouch forward, hurting my back again.
4. I would have to leave it outside some shops, which is no good as I cannot stand and walk for long enough to queue or browse the shelves for what I need.
5. I cannot take a scooter on a bus. They’re not allowed.

A larger scooter would solve part of this problem including footspace and seat height, but would cost more and still hurt my arms and hands. The one I tried was also too heavy for me to lift into my car and possibly too big to fit. A proper electric wheelchair would have a good seat, proper arm support, a controller suitable for the level of pain in my hands, enough space for my feet, would be allowed in shops and other places, and could go on buses.

Since my application I have actually bought a second hand electric wheelchair for £300 but while useful on occasion it is far too bulky to go in my car and the batteries are nearly worn out and will soon require expensive replacements. If this local charity insist they will only pay for a scooter then there really is no point in my getting one. I’ll have to use my current chair until it dies for journeys on public transport and will have to have someone with me to push when I go out in my car. I’ll be writing to the charity with all of my reasons and I will also suggest to them that they purchase a slightly cheaper electric wheelchair, although finding one that is both cheap and reliable will prove tricky.