Wheelchair service

[Old Salt]

My wife's wheel chair needs an MOT type service. Several nuts keeps coming loose and I seem to always be adjusting the brakes.

I live near Bedford and can drive, but it would be best if I could get someone to come to the house.

Thanks for any assistance

Old Salt

[poodicat]

I would contact postural management,and occupational therapy,through your gp surgery..

[poodicat]

Headwreck if only...

[Mamyalynne]

If it has to go away for service Age Concern do a loan service.

[cazzz1975]

my sons wheelchair is looked after by the local health authority, this includes repairs and renewal, have you contacted your local health authority or your gp, they may be able to direct you better ?

[woofgang]

where did the wheelchair come from? If it came from the local wheelchair service then they can sort repairs and servicing. If you bought it then they may be able to suggest a local reputable repair service.

here might be able to help
http://www.drcbeds.co.../wheelchair-hire.html

[Old Salt]

Thank you all for your useful replies

I spoke to a Red Cross worker and he thinks he can help. They loan out wheelchairs and they have them serviced regularly.

It sounds like the problem if solved,

OS

[RATTER15]

I service all the 12 wheelchairs in the home where I work, they are very simple to service, if a nut keeps coming loose its usually because they are nylock nuts that need replacing. It takes me a bout 10 to 15 minutes for a full service.

[Old Salt]

Sounds like a good fall-back plan RATTER15

But my arthritis is pretty bad in my hands, so I am not able to use tools easily, but if-need-be......

Thanks for the tip

OS

[askyourgran]

The Red Cross are good, I loaned a wheelchair from them when I had to go somewhere and I'd just had a hip operation. I believe it cost £20 deposit for a few weeks, I only needed it for the day. When I returned it I gave the £20 to them for their worthwhile charity. I'm sure they would help with repair and a loan of another one for a reasonable fee.

[campbellking]

Old Salt, if you are registered to a Bedfordshire G.P., then the responsibility for wheelchair maintainence falls with the PCT(especially if the chair was provided for your wife) Ring Wheelchair services on [phone]. The phone line is 'personally answered' between 10 a.m. and 12 noon and 2pm to 4pm.
Hope this helps

[Old Salt]

Thanks for the advice campbellking, but, like askyourgran, I used the Red Cross for temporary walking frames, canes, crutches and wheelchairs, as no one mentioned the NHS would provide them

And also, the wife's disability gradually got worse over a period of years. We only got a blue badge, by accident, last year; no one mentioned that we might be eligible.

I guess we're just a case that 'dropped into a crack'. Anyway, last year I bought a wheelchair.....it was brand new and from a good chemist, but, I think I may have got a dud. It's the same place I got a bath chair (battery operated) to raise and lower my wife into the tub; eventually, after several repairs and three replacements, the manufacturer supplied me with a different make.

So, what I'm saying is we have been stumbling around and are only just now beginning to understand what disable aids are available..

I am extremely grateful for all the replies and they have placed me a much better position to 'take action.'

Old Salt

[campbellking]

Old Salt, must confess to working at Bedford Hospital, so have some knowledge of local services. Ask your G.P. to refer you to the Community occupational Therapy team, who can give advice/provide suitable bathing equipment for your wife, and also look at providing other equipment into the home to make your lives easier. They will also look at suitable wheelchair provision for you, although the criteria for provision of these can be a little interesting at times. If mobility is becoming more of an issue, ask for referral to the community physiotherapy team, who can assess your wife and provide appropriate walking/transfer equipment. Please use your local NHS, as private companies often charge over the odds for things that you are entiltled to.
Hope you get some help. Also, Age Concern (recently rebranded as I think Age U.K.) can also provide advice on what you may be entiltled to, as it may be that if you are having to give your wife more and more help that he would qualify for Attendance Allowance

[Old Salt]

Thanks campbellking,

Will definitely keep it in mind for any future needs. 'I think' right now I've got all the bases covered. But one thing is for sure, "There's always a new twist, just around the corner."

OS