Disabled woman's six-month wheelchair battery wait

Stoke-on-Trent city councillor Duncan Walker called Rachel Carter's experience an 'absolute disgrace'

A paraplegic woman who has been waiting six months for her wheelchair batteries to be replaced said she is unable travel more than a mile from her home.

Rachel Carter said her powered wheelchair is her "access to independence" and she has been waiting for new batteries since she picked the chair up in January.

Stoke-on-Trent city councillor Duncan Walker called Ms Carter's experience an "absolute disgrace" and said he was shocked that someone with her condition was left with faulty batteries for so long.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) acknowledged Ms Carter's concerns and said it would look into her case.

Stoke City Council carried out a review into its wheelchair service provider, AJM Healthcare, last year. The review was commissioned by the ICB following concerns raised that service users were facing lengthy delays.

An update provided by the ICB to the scrutiny committee this week said the service has been able to reduce the number of long-term waiters over the past year.

In June, there were 61 adults and 15 children waiting more than 52 weeks, compared to 182 adults and 47 children in 2024.

But Ms Carter, a member of the wheelchair users representative group, told the committee that feedback from service users was still mostly negative.

She said: "When I picked my chair up in January, unfortunately the battery was flat. It broke down twice on the way home, and I had to be rescued once by somebody after I'd only gone a mile up the road

"They checked the chair and said they'd order another set of batteries.

"However, I still only have a range of two miles, which means I'm completely grounded – I can only got a mile from my house, it's not safe to go any further than that. The battery won't hold its charge."

She told the committee that she was informed the wait time would be a month - but every time she has called to chase up the batteries, there has been no update.

'Independence has been curtailed'

"So many people are given the standard response – that it won't take long, and invariably it just goes on and on and on. For a person with paraplegia, this is my access to independence.

"My independence has been completely curtailed because I can't go anywhere. There are far more people than me in this situation."

The wheelchair users representative group is compiling a report on users experience with the service.

ICB officials plan to use the report to inform the procurement process for a new wheelchair service provider, with the current contract due to end next March.

Helen Lester, associate director of planned care at the ICB, said she would personally look into Ms Carter's case.

She said: "When we get that report, it will be an opportunity to make sure that these concerns are taken on board so we can provide a good quality service with the new provider. It doesn't mean that we can leave things untouched until then – we need to address that today as well."

Committee members expressed disappointment that the service had not improved as much as they had wanted.

Councillor Chandra Kanneganti, from Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said there was a "clear mismatch" between the ICB's report and the experience of service users.

Committee members asked for the ICB to return in December to give a further update on the service.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.