Comment from Clive: How to bring NHS England’s wheelchair service up to speed

‘My GP agreed I should get a wheelchair and this would help me. It should have been the hardest part, but actually, it got worse.’  The story of junior doctor Hannah Barham-Brown’s struggles with the NHS wheelchair service in England which produced an unusable wheelchair after a six-month wait will resonate with many who have had similar experiences at the hands of the country’s largest provider of wheelchairs.

Dr Barham-Brown’s speech to the British Medical Association’s recent conference paved the way for a unanimous vote for the association to adopt ensuring patients have timely access to suitable wheelchairs as a priority in its work with NHS England and other bodies.