Stokies have been waiting two years for new or repaired wheelchairs
Savannah Bayley-Lowndes, from Chesterton, with mum Vicki and step-dad Steve pictured in 2024(Image: Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel)
Lengthy waits for new or repaired wheelchairs have been slashed in recent months, councillors have been told. Scrutiny committee members at Stoke-on-Trent City Council have been reviewing the NHS wheelchair service following reports that some people have been facing delays of a year or more.
Service users say the delays can leave them stranded at home, impacting on their independence, mental health, employment, and social lives. Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB), which commissions the wheelchair service, issued contractor AJM Healthcare with a performance notice last August and put in place a remedial action plan.
Helen Slater, director of community transformation at the ICB, told the adult social care and health integration scrutiny committee that there had been ‘good performance’ over the last couple of months. All service user waits over 65 weeks have been eliminated, with the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks being cut by around 230, or nine per cent. There has also been a 75 per cent reduction in the number of service users waiting more than a year for equipment.
The contract is currently being re-tendered. Ms Slater said that regardless of the outcome of the tender exercise, the ICB would continue to closely monitor the service.
She said: “We know that AJM through the lifetime of the contract hasn’t met with the standards that were set out within the contract. A contract performance notice was issued in August 2025. A joint investigation took place and we were able to take action and put a performance remedial action plan and trajectory in place. There has been good performance over the last couple of months.
“We have performance monitoring on a weekly basis with detailed reports coming into the ICB every Friday. The improvement trajectory and action plan mandates the elimination of service users waiting more than 31 weeks by the end of February. AJM remain on track to achieve this. We’re pleased to see that we have seen, albeit late in the timeline of the contract, some significant improvement in terms of service provision over the last couple of months.”
Committee members previously carried out a task and finish review on both the wheelchair and orthotics service in Stoke-on-Trent. One of the recommendations was the creation of a wheelchair service users group, which would help inform improvements to provision.
Mandy Rollins, chair of the representation group, told the committee that a consultation exercise carried out last year highlighted the problems faced by service users.
She said: “The consultation findings reveal that delays in wheelchair provision have profound consequences on physical health, mental wellbeing, and social participation. Users emphasise that wheelchairs are essential for independence, not optional luxuries. Extended wait times, often exceeding 73 weeks, and in some cases reaching 104 weeks, were linked with pain, mobility deterioration, increased healthcare visits, and heightened mental health challenges. These delays also created barriers to employment, education, and community engagement.
“Communication gaps exacerbate user frustration, as updates on referral status and equipment delivery are inconsistent. Assessments often fail to consider lifestyle needs, resulting in unsuitable equipment that compromises safety and comfort.
“Repair services, while functional, lack urgency and clear protocols leaving users vulnerable during breakdowns. These systemic issues highlight the need for strategic reforms in prioritisation, resource allocation, and communication.”
Ms Rollins said there are positive aspects to the current service, including the professionalism of staff and the accessibility of service centres, especially the Tunstall site. But she said these points were often negated by the ‘operational inefficiencies’ with the service as a whole.
Scrutiny committee members voted to support a raft of recommendations made by the user group following its consultation. These include increased transparency in appointment scheduling, proactive communication for service updates and equipment delivery, and the introduction of defined priority tiers, to help manage expectations.
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