I’ve been told to wait three years for a wheelchair that ‘can go outside’

I’ve been told to wait three years for a wheelchair that ‘can go outside’ | Frances Ryan It is surely a societal failure when 5,000 children wait months for an NHS chair, while others receive no help to cover costs

One of my abiding childhood memories was being given my first wheelchair. Until I was six, I had to resort to a large buggy, a mass of translucent plastic frames and ugly grey wheels. It was through the charity Whizz-Kidz that I finally got my first wheelchair, a streamlined seat in midnight purple. I remember taking my newfound freedom to my local Morrisons, home of the shiniest floor in town. I had gone from being trapped in plastic to sitting in a rocket ship, throwing myself down the crisps and snacks aisle.

A decade later, I had outgrown the chair and my family were back to working out how we would pay for a new one – this time a pricier, electric wheelchair that cost at least £5,000. My mum wrote to the board of local charities, we saved what we could, and Whizz-Kidz again filled in the rest.

Turning to charity feels particularly disconcerting if you’re disabled​​. It’s reminiscent of the pre-welfare state era Continue reading... The Guardian