Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve availability of wheelchairs.

Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning the majority of wheelchair services for their local populations and equipment will be prescribed according to the patient’s clinical need following an assessment by an appropriately qualified practitioner or prescriber.

To improve wheelchair commissioning, and promote personalisation in wheelchair services, NHS England has published a Model Service Specification for Wheelchair and Posture Services. The specification provides CCGs with a Framework for them to use with their service users, providers and suppliers to ensure that they commission services that meet the needs of wheelchair users.

NHS England is developing a personal health budget offer for wheelchair users. This will allow meet individuals’ health and wellbeing needs more effectively. The scheme will build on the existing voucher scheme by introducing holistic, personalised assessments and by increasing transparency of choice for people who access wheelchair services.