A seven-month wait for a suitable wheelchair left a Hertfordshire boy with cerebral palsy suffering repeated falls and unable to attend nursery, in a case highlighted by public service ombudsman Paula Sussex. Her report calls for stronger oversight of services as complaints have risen sharply.
The report records an increase in wheelchair service complaints from eight in 2020/21 to 110 in 2025/26, according to BBC News. More than 80% concerned services run by an independent provider rather than the NHS. Originally reported by BBC News.
Elliot's wait kept him from nursery
Elliot, now six, had been referred for a wheelchair by his physiotherapist. His mother, Jania, said she had not been warned how long the wait would be.
She said the family would have looked for other ways to obtain one had they known. Instead, Elliot missed starting nursery alongside his twin brother, an experience she said was particularly hard for him.
Jania said she hoped the report would lead to improvements for other families as well as her own.
Battery failures restricted independence
Graham Woolner, 68, from Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, has used a wheelchair for more than 15 years. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy in childhood, he was due to receive a wheelchair by August 2023 at the latest but received it in September 2024.
He said its batteries failed after just 100yds and the problem remained unresolved, leaving him unable to rely on it for a year. He stopped going out without his son, who could push him home if needed.
"The wheelchair is effectively my legs - I need it to live my daily life," Graham Woolner said.
Calls for stronger national oversight
Sussex recommended reliable data collection on wheelchair users and stronger national oversight. The Department of Health and Social Care said it would consider the findings carefully.
Most complaints involved waits exceeding the 18-week target for new wheelchairs, equipment or replacement parts.
Originally reported by BBC News.