Disabled girl, 10, in three-year wait for new wheelchair, says dad

Charlie Burridge is non verbal and relies on an assisted technology machine to communicate

A severely disabled 10-year-old girl is facing unacceptable delays in securing the right wheelchair for her needs, her family has said.

Charlie Burridge has an NHS chair but it does not support her head, which she needs to be able to communicate.

The family, from North Tyneside, said it is taking too long to be seen at Newcastle's Freeman hospital.

The hospital said the wait had been "due to the clinics being booked and annual leave issues".

Charlie is non-verbal as a result of an undiagnosed condition she was born with and uses an eye-gazing machine to communicate, but her dad Brian said her head needs to be upright for her to use it.

'Begging bowl'

Mr Burridge said he had spent three years battling to get her the correct wheelchair.

He described how his daughter was able to keep her head upright at the start of the day but by lunchtime it would fall to the side.

"Her head starts to go off the side of the chair and we lift it up and her head falls back down and we're doing this all day," he said.

Mr Burridge is worried Charlie's back could be permanently damaged as a result.

Her last appointment was on 6 May and their next one is on Thursday, but her father believes 118 days between appointments is too long.

"I just feel like I've always got my begging bowl out. I work full time and when I get home she's still hanging out of her chair, it just feels like I can't do it anymore."

Charlie sitting upright in her wheelchair in 2018

Mr Burridge said while he is critical of the wait to get his daughter a new chair, he was not finding fault with front-line NHS workers.

"[During lockdown] I was standing on the step and clapping.

"I appreciate the NHS so much so I almost feel guilty having a go at the organisation for Charlie hanging out of her chair, because they've done so much.

"But then Charlie can't speak for herself and I'm her dad and if it's not right I've got to say something."

In a statement, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are sorry this is causing distress and are currently looking into this as a formal complaint.

"While we can't comment on Charlotte's individual circumstances, an appointment has been arranged where we will discuss the concerns the family has raised."