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Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 03 Feb 2018, 03:39

It would appear that 7 years after I was the first person (and the only person) on a "personal budget for powerchairs" now everyone can! It happened 7 years back, because of a rather large extended agument over a long period. With the unbelievably useless UK wheelchair services, that this is now available to all. They started the whole thing because I made then see that I could do better than they could for the same cost. So giving ME the money helps me, and takes all the pressure off them! So everyone wins. I get choice. They get to administrate and assess and dont need to repair or provide a chair.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/personal-hea ... r-budgets/

This happened because I told them I could do a lot better with the same money and proved it. Initially by turning up at meetings in my own home built superior chairs and kind of took the piss when they assessed me due to their ignorance of powerchairs. I had much fun. At that time I was doing this at my own expense. And they actually decided a personal budget was the way to go for me. And what surprised me was that finally they LISTENED! I had a visit from the governments home office (heath secratary's mini me, and another bunch of officials from my local council). And that was it. A cheque every 3 years.

I was told that it was not being rolled out to all however after 2 years trials, in various towns/cities, because there was not enough interest. People mostly wanted someone else to take responsibility. Seems they changed their minds!

So now whats your excuse! Get those personal and well educated assessements typed up, and sent in long before they attempt to assess you for something cheap! And insist! Its what has paid for my home built chairs for 7 years, and this one in the link a couple of weeks ago. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7455&start=60

This allows you the user to have the BUYING power! You get to choose, you get to argue about options, choose your supplier and chair new or used. You get to talk about discounts. You get to tell the dealer which chair you like best. Why is that important? Its capitalism. If people buy the best chair based on price, quality, things like programmability (hello pride!) then the best manufacturers that offer you the user the best chair/options/service gets to sell more chairs. The rest then need to please you and those like you, or go out of business. It makes them compete! And it gives you choice! And means the dealer answers to you.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby wheelinghome » 04 Feb 2018, 13:16

In your post you state getting the funding every 3 years. Is that specific to your CCG? Do you contact them every 3 years or do they write to you when you are eligible again?

Mine has always been every 5 years on the voucher scheme.

They have now implemented the personal wheelchair budget scheme however unfortunately I had my last voucher two years ago so am not expecting to be able to use the wheelchair budget for at least another year.

One of my friends locally is currently going through the process of being allocated a budget so will be interesting to see what he comes out with.

Although my CCG has implemented the scheme, looking at their website it looks more like they are paying lip service to it. They've always heavily steered you towards getting one of their sh*tty chairs and create a real fight to go independent. On their website they don't mention the three-year availability of the scheme- they say "an adult wheelchair typically lasts 5 years" again this seems to intimate that you only get the budget every 5 years.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 04 Feb 2018, 13:19

Well they always try the 5 year trick. But I tell them I am active and kill chairs. I contact them. With my OWN assessement. They know better than to attempt to assess and offer me anything because I embarass them in front of their bosses in a meeting after they try. And I explain every point they got wrong from a big list. I have to explain the differences between motors, controllers, seat positions, wheel and caster types and sizes CG position, seating options and the affect these options have and why. Now they dont attempt. We go through every point one at a time and I explain why they dont know what they are doing.

They've always heavily steered you towards getting one of their sh*tty chairs and create a real fight to go independent.
Its your right. Tell them so!
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 04 Feb 2018, 13:31


Personal wheelchair budgets

From the NHS website.

In May 2016, Simon Stevens announced that NHS England would be developing a personal health budgets model for the provision of wheelchairs. This work is being led by NHS England’s Personal Health Budget Team, as part of plans for the wider expansion of personal health budgets nationally.

Since April 2017, all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England have been expected to start developing local personal wheelchair budget offers to replace the current wheelchair voucher system.

During 2017/18, all CCGs should publish the details of their personal wheelchair budget offer as part of their personal health budget local offer, usually available on CCG websites.

During the transitional period, wheelchair vouchers should still be made available.

A personal wheelchair budget is a resource available to support people’s choice of wheelchair, either within NHS commissioned services or outside of NHS commissioned services.


Personal wheelchair budgets aim to increase choice and control for people who access wheelchair services through:

Providing holistic assessments that take into account people’s wider needs and how good wheelchair provision can increase independence and improve people’s health and wellbeing outcomes
Supporting people to identify their own health and wellbeing goals

Means a chair that gets you into your van, crash tested, seat lift to allow you to shop or reach a high cupboard at home, or enough range to last the day, or tilt to help with pressure sore prevention or works on soft winter ground while you walk your dog, etc. Or used chairs. Lithium if YOU decide. Backup chair. YOU choose.

In my case home made chairs! Holistic means joined up, everything that best works for you. They may have only just rolled this out but I was the first. Doing this since 2010. It works, and yes they dont like doing it. They are rightly worried about their jobs!
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby salixfire » 04 Feb 2018, 14:04

This is currently what I'm arguing for. *rant incoming*

Apparently Wokingham CCG (which controls the personal health and personal wheelchair budgets for a number of different areas around them) is a complete *insert angry sweary rant*. All the doctors and health professionals around have basically given up ever being successful in getting them awarded for their patients (including terminal and rapid declining). I managed to convince a new social worker into doing the initial assessment (what's the harm? The worse they can say is no) and via their own guidelines I scored high enough to get the multidisciplinary assessment. The CCG told my social worker she had filled it out incorrectly (apparently they have different definitions of the words unpredictable, severe, uncontrollable and complex. I want to see their dictionary) and that I didn't qualify so don't bother submitting it. I told my social worker they were full of BS and explained why. She went back to them and suddenly I'm qualified for the second assessment. Weird that :P

This same CCG is in control of the wheelchair clinics in my area too. So you can imagine what that is like for assessments. Also the hospital and CCG are playing pass the buck. The hospital says they are waiting on the CCG representative to be assigned to them, the CCG says the hospital hasn't sorted out the training/plan for setting up the personal wheelchair budget. So no one can claim them yet in my area. Oh and the voucher has been discontinued so you can't even get that.

Sorry for the rant. If any of you know of information I can use against them in this ongoing fight or what I can do to sort out my own assessment that they can't argue with? Thanks :) I really wish this would work how it's meant to.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 04 Feb 2018, 14:10

The problem is that you are too polite. 7 years ago I stopped being polite. And they had NO such scheme at all. I basically forced them to do it, and made the scheme start. I took the piss out of them for years for being incompetant, incapable of assessement, and showed why they hadnt a clue about chairs. I laughed at the chairs they offered in meetings that included all the big wigs and administrators. And destroyed the assesements publically and continued to do so in front of all the hospital administrators, etc. The LA paid in the cheque via Direct care payments. Confusion all over the place. They dare not try assessing me again so no option.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby salixfire » 04 Feb 2018, 14:18

I'm very quickly becoming less polite about things as I go along when it comes to the CCG and LA. Unfortunately, politeness has been drilled into me. Also being female means that I am told I'm being over emotional or am just ignored (this has happened quite a bit recently and is really pissing me off). So any information on how to make them do what they are meant to would be really helpful. They have a hard time ignoring me if I can point out in their own guidelines where they are wrong, hence being able to get that second assessment. Anything less than facts/law and they dismiss it here.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 04 Feb 2018, 14:28

Embarass them in meetings, be sure you get the head of wcs for your area, CCG, LA, and the person responsible for your assessement all in a meeting. As well doing as a real self assessement using reason and logic, on paper, with the chair you need to fulfill your clinical and HOLISTIC needs and TO destroy their assesement/argument/offering with logic and facts. They cant argue about those. Be sure to do a bullet point refutation of their written assessement/chair choice, to make them look really stupid. Do it deliberately and slowly and watch the assessor squirm. Then see what they offer.

Logic and facts, esp ones that are in their own remit, and on the page I linked to, are not something they can dismiss. Or disagree with. Tell them that you are not giving up until they deal with it between themselves one way or another. You are being fobbed off since you are accepting what they say and so they get away with it. THAT is your only problem. I am stubborn, and know a lot about chairs, and my own needs. Making me the best person for assessements! They dont get off so lightly since I forgot more than they will ever know.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby salixfire » 04 Feb 2018, 19:27

Do you have any suggestions for the best way to get a full and accurate assessment for me? What things should be included? How do you justify the various things you need? (eg how do you prove you are an extremely active user?) I mean justify them so that the CCG etc can't refute them. Even if they concede, they'll try and get away with the bare minimum.

Also the lovely little sticking point for personal health/wheelchair budgets is that you have to qualify for the CHC funding to be awarded them. This is the bit I'm currently fighting to get the second assessment in my first post, just to clarify. If you can't/don't qualify for the CHC funding (according to the CCG who assesses you) then they don't have to pay for the PHB or PWB. Even though this is bizarre when linked to the wheelchair budget.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 04 Feb 2018, 19:43

Do you have any suggestions for the best way to get a full and accurate assessment for me?
Yes. Do your own. Nobody knows your needs but you! Write down your needs in detail giving the reasons you need for eg Tilt or centre power footplate, or lift. These are clinical requirements, say ability to tilt/recline to shift pressure, power legs to check or get to leg bag, or because of swolen legs. Give them graphic photos. Holistic? You need it to drive a vehicle from, that means design, clearance for head getting in, seat height and swing away controls, enough ground clearance. Adjustable seat height to reach chairs, beds to be able to transfer. etc etc.

What things should be included? How do you justify the various things you need? (eg how do you prove you are an extremely active user?) I mean justify them so that the CCG etc can't refute them. Even if they concede, they'll try and get away with the bare minimum.
Active user? Show them a list of my trashed motors, muddy flying feild photos while STUCK in mud, and a bunch of reciepts for parts, batteries, bigger chargers, a photo of my pile of tyres worn to the canvas! KEEP all reciepts and documentation, and photos. But to be fair they just believe me as they know me well...

Also the lovely little sticking point for personal health/wheelchair budgets is that you have to qualify for the CHC funding to be awarded them.
? nope. Its an excuse and you are being fobbed of due to politeness. I dont qualify for that and nor do I care. The wheelchair services have a remit to supply a suitable chair, or money to do so.

This is the bit I'm currently fighting to get the second assessment in my first post, just to clarify. If you can't/don't qualify for the CHC funding (according to the CCG who assesses you) then they don't have to pay for the PHB or PWB. Even though this is bizarre when linked to the wheelchair budget.


PHB ??? Whats that?
or PWB yep they give me this via direct payments not the CCG. I.e. they pay indirectly, the council send me the money.

No clue what any of that means. But as far as I know I dont qualify for any of that stuff. Nor do I care. Those are their internal issues. Tell them that all thats stuff is their problem, and to deal with it and stop making their problems yours! I told you you are far too polite.

Added... Just looked it up. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-ca ... uing-care/
Not me, I dont qualify. Nor does it make an ounce of difference. The route they use internally to fund this is between themselves and it is not your problem. Its theirs. They are making it yours.

They need pushing hard to do anything thats not "set up" and easy that fits their system. You must push hard enough to make them do stuff thats not the usual route. Anything different scares them. The difference here is that I dont take their excuses as my answer. Ask them what their remit is in writing. And show them the page linked here. And go read it to them in a large organised meeting of the higher ups in the system. Ask them why you dont have a budget? Tell them its their job, and you are not interested in exactly how they fund it or in their abreviations or excuses. Take your local papers community reporter with you.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 04 Feb 2018, 20:12

On Personal Wheelchair Budgets – a new approach to wheelchair commissioning will replace the current voucher scheme. Wheelchair users have found a number of challenges with the existing scheme, now 20 years old, including a lack of information and guidance around maintenance, repair and replacement as well as a limited number of providers where a voucher can be redeemed.

The new personal health budget scheme will offer more choice of where wheelchairs can be bought as well as a detailed care plan that will help users make informed decision about their wheelchair. The care plans will also go beyond purchasing the chair to also include guidance on future maintenance, repair and replacement needs.

It means that a wheelchair will form part of a person’s wider care, catering for their individual needs and ensuring a more joined-up approach, a key aim of NHS England’s Five Year


2 years ago! This is now live. Although your WCS are stubbornly trying to ignore it.

Remember that this replaces the voucher scheme. Open to all wheelchair users... https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/05/nhs- ... provision/
They are giving you a bunch of excuses because they are like most useless gov services, stuck in their ways because its "easy". And because you let them. You must take that sleepy old bull, and punch it firmly on the nose. If it doesent wake up a bit, do it again.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 05 Feb 2018, 10:39

I've been with wcs for about 12 years but for manual chairs. I'm currently on a waiting list for my first powerchair assessment. I've been told the list is about 16wks and I've been on it 10wks.
Is the personal wc budget aimed at patients with more complicated clinical needs?
I was hoping to pass the assessment and qualify for an NHS voucher. But from my experience of the voucher scheme it can only be used with 'approved suppliers'.
My intention all along has been to contact Tom Kilmore powerchairs and work with him buying one of his basic powerchairs. I would trust someone like him more than a dealer.
My clinical needs are quite low, but after years in a manual chair I no longer have the arm strength or joint function to use a manual chair.

I've checked my local CCG website http://www.surreyheathccg.nhs.uk and it makes no mention of personal wheelchair budgets?
My local wcs is Virgin http://www.virgincare.co.uk/vc-provider ... s-farnham/

How do the CCG and WCS interact/relate to one another? Do they work together?

Do you think it will be worth asking about the personal wheelchair budget when I have my wcs assessment?

I'll probably get fed up with waiting or dealing with the bureaucracy and buy one of Tom's powerchairs myself, although it's a lot of money to find. I really need a powerchair 'like yesterday', I feel I'm wasting my life waiting when I could be doing more and visiting places :(
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 05 Feb 2018, 12:15

I'm currently on a waiting list for my first powerchair assessment. I've been told the list is about 16wks and I've been on it 10wks.
Mistake 1. Assess yourself, dont allow them to do it first. Send your assessement recorded delivery and call daily to speak to whowever is in charge. Their assessement is not a thing you "pass" its an assessement of the cheapest possible method to get out of paying and to prescribe the bare minimum that you could manage with. At the cheapest cost to them. Holistic needs will never be mentioned. Clinical manually powered options only will be "allowed"... My assessement was 10 pages of complex details explaining exactly why/what I required, with a list of 3 chairs that would do the trick.

Is the personal wc budget aimed at patients with more complicated clinical needs?
For all. If you want it.

I was hoping to pass the assessment and qualify for an NHS voucher. But from my experience of the voucher scheme it can only be used with 'approved suppliers'.
You cant "pass" or fail. You can be assessed as needing either no chair, a basic manual deckchair, a lightweight manual active user type chair, a powerchair, from super useless to 10k all singing/dancing. They will get you to fill in a form full of trick questions. And measure your doorways. A door too narrow? No powerchair. They ask you how far you go, and then you obviously put that you need to go a long way. So bigger battery needed. Chair now wider, wont fit through doorway. So they offer something small/cheap, or manual... Be careful what you answer! I just told them all the questions made no sense and sent it back empty with my own written assessement.

And yest the voucher scheme is being REPLACED by this, and yes the voucher scheme only allowed you to choose from a bunch of suppliers that they already arranged a large backhander from... In other words, the 25 to 30 percent discount I get when buying went to the wheelchair services behind the scenes.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 05 Feb 2018, 13:02

Burgerman wrote:Assess yourself, dont allow them to do it first. Send your assessement recorded delivery and call daily to speak to whowever is in charge. Their assessement is not a thing you "pass" its an assessement of the cheapest possible method to get out of paying and to prescribe the bare minimum that you could manage with. At the cheapest cost to them. Holistic needs will never be mentioned. Clinical manually powered options only will be "allowed"... My assessement was 10 pages of complex details explaining exactly why/what I required, with a list of 3 chairs that would do the trick.

That's interesting thank you, I would never have thought of that. While waiting on them I will write a letter explaining how I am struggling and why I need a powerchair. You've made wcs 'assessment' clear to me, I didn't think about it like that. But come to think about it, the woman who last assessed me for my manual chair was blooming useless. She didn't have a clue about my clinical needs. She 'assessed' me as needing some granny tank on solid tyres with an armrest tray. I just said yeah, yeah, yeah, and when I got the voucher bought what I needed. Although probably if I'd been more forceful or 'informed' I could have got a higher value voucher out of them? But that's all water under the bridge now as a manual chair isn't any good to me anymore.

Burgerman wrote:You cant "pass" or fail. You can be assessed as needing either no chair, a basic manual deckchair, a lightweight manual active user type chair, a powerchair, from super useless to 10k all singing/dancing. They will get you to fill in a form full of trick questions. And measure your doorways. A door too narrow? No powerchair. They ask you how far you go, and then you obviously put that you need to go a long way. So bigger battery needed. Chair now wider, wont fit through doorway. So they offer something small/cheap, or manual... Be careful what you answer! I just told them all the questions made no sense and sent it back empty with my own written assessement.

When I write I will be mindful to be careful to not give them excuses to refuse me. I know they can't use my property as a bar to a powerchair as it is level access with wide doorways, wide hall, and a wet room.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby salixfire » 05 Feb 2018, 13:57

I'm in a similar boat Scooterman. WCS gave me a manual chair that I can't self propel due to fatigue and shoulders easily dislocating, but because my partner can push me that was all I qualified for as I wasn't "bad enough" to need a power chair. Be careful how they word things in their questions as well. "How far can you travel currently?" is them trying to get out of giving you a power chair. If you say you travel quite far (as BM suggests), they will say that then you don't need a power chair as you are able to travel a long way in your manual chair. If you say not very far because you can't propel, then you don't need a power chair as you don't go far. Be aware of what they are asking and then try and think how they can use it to screw you over and give you the bare minimum. In my case because my partner said she could push me, no power chair for me (and bugger all offered for the voucher). So I'm fighting it.

BM what sort of things did you include in the self assessment? Would it be possible to post what sort of questions you looked at/what sort of information you included? (sans anything too personal for you to post of course)
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby woodygb » 05 Feb 2018, 17:23

I believe that the formula B.M. is telling you to use is to simply dismiss / ignore any erroneous or weasel worded questions...

E.G. Your partners ability to push you around is NOT relevant .....I'd perhaps mark the the question as N/A.

You simply have a NEED/RIGHT to the INDEPENDENT living that a Power Chair would provide.... and you know best what your needs are NOT THEM!

Essentially insist that they are WRONG/MISINFORMED/IGNORANT and you are RIGHT....Hammer that home using FACTS as a blunt instrument.


All the above comes fairly easy to B.M. as he has the mindset for it... maybe not so much for others....

Make a choice ...SUCK IT UP and get what your given or STICK IT TO THEM and hopefully get what you want.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 05 Feb 2018, 17:31

In one! Take no prisoners,. and ignore their stupid form/question.

Heres the thing. Its all escuses. All of it isabout seeing how theycanweasel out of spending any or much money, Its not about assessiong YOU foryour benefit. Itsabout their budget DUISGUISED as anassessement with lots of officialdom and waiting.

I bought a chair, and built my own. And assessed myself. And threatened to sue them publically if they didnt cough. Guess what happened. No wait, no assessement, and a cheque.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 05 Feb 2018, 17:53

After reading through this topic I'm definitely going to go on the pro-active. I will emphasise my need for a powerchair so I can carry on living indecently without the need of a care package. Also I am genuinely very frail, I only weigh 8.5 stone and have nobody to help me either in or outside the home. But there's no point in me convincing you guys, wcs/ccg are the people I need to convince.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby salixfire » 05 Feb 2018, 18:10

Yes, my comment was for Scooterman mostly. I realised this (unfortunately too late for being assigned my previous chair, being under the mistaken impression that the WCS knew what they were talking about) and hence why I'm fighting it. Quite frankly I'm truly sick of all the cost cutting at the expense of the ones that need the help and hence the focus on giving them the bare minimum they can get away with. Between PIP, social care/chc funding and WCS my last year has been hell. My main issue is making sure I have all the information to string them up with and not forget anything in the assessments that means they can get away with a lower standard.

My brain doesn't work the way it should/used to which doesn't help. So any extra help/information would be greatly appreciated. If you don't mind me asking, what did you include in your self assessment BM?
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 05 Feb 2018, 18:15

About 8 pages. Which I cant type here and no longer have a record of!

EVERYTHING inc which chairs are suitable and exactly why!
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 05 Feb 2018, 18:36

Burgerman wrote:inc which chairs are suitable and exactly why!

Out of the large manufacturers, which make models would suggest would be suitable as a good basic first chair? I'm going to sound very ignorant but we all have to start somewhere. I will write to them explaining my circumstances and was thinking of suggesting a chair like the Salsa or Jive R2, with centre footplate, mainly because I'm familiar and used to RWD. I don't feel I need a tilting or elevating chair, or at least I could get away without one.
My local authority was the one that wanted to increase c.tax by 15% to pay for adult social care and are always belly aching about how underfunded they are. I don't know if this has any impact on wcs but if it does I could wait for hell to freeze over taking a passive stance. I'll give it a go and refuse to take no for an answer and write more letters, Woodygb has made me think. Even if it all blows up in my face I won't be in a worse situation than I am now. (But I won't be rude, just persistent).
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby woodygb » 05 Feb 2018, 18:45

Scooterman wrote:After reading through this topic I'm definitely going to go on the pro-active. I will emphasise my need for a powerchair so I can carry on living indecently . :thumbup:
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 05 Feb 2018, 18:49

Yes indecently! Lol
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 05 Feb 2018, 19:05

Of all the rear drive chairs on the market the SALSA is the one to go for. The jive comes as stock with the wrong options. What does that mean? Its seating pushes you too far forwards. The salsa seating, wiuth single post arms, not the lift up ones, is the most solid if you need to lift on them. But the salsa comes as stock with a crappy weak control system i.e. VR2 and a 90A controller. You really want R-net 120A, and 4 -pole 6mph motors. 8mph ones dont have adequate torque if you are a grown adult!¬ (fat!). So...

Essentials, R-net 120A, 4 pole 6mph, Preferably with the new colour joystick if you plan on any seating options as its graphics make that much easier. Fed with the larger 80Ah batteries as 55/60Ah is stock, and with a centre footplate as per the mid driive salsa m2.

What you end up with is an expensive salsa if you add power centre footplate, tilt, lift, etc. That turns and works better than the Jive.

Then, if you expect it to be short enough to use, and able to steer, it needs the seating moving back (just bolts) and the footplate may need modifying (mine did) so it goes back between the casters with no issues, and it will definitely wat programming or it will be hopeless.

What you end up with is this delivered to your door.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7455&start=40#p113749

Then, you need 4 hours work making it work properly.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 05 Feb 2018, 23:30

Thank you I've made a note of your recommendations. :thumbup:
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby clairc » 09 Feb 2018, 12:26

I'm really interested in personal wheelchair budgets. I have a Personal Health Budget for physiotherapy. I was the first person in my local area to get one and it took over a year to actually get the money but I got there in the end.

Will the personal wheelchair budget have the same eligibility criteria as Wheelchair Services? I have been refused a powerchair assessment by WS because I can mobilise on crutches in my own home. I can't walk more than a few metres outdoors and I can't self propel my manual wheelchair at all.

I now have an assistance dog which I need to walk every day. Can I use this to argue that I need a powered wheelchair given that I can't self propel or walk any kind of useful distance. My house doesn't need to be wheelchair accessible as I don't use a powerchair indoors and I can store it in my garage (with electric door) which is right next to my front door. My needs are not being met by having a manual self propel chair because the only time I can use it is if someone pushes me.

For years I've self funded the equipment I need but my condition has deteriorated. Cheap mobility scooters are not longer suitable for me but an appropriate powerchair is way beyond my financial means.

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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Burgerman » 09 Feb 2018, 12:33

I think that if you can not show medical needs for a powerchair indoors they wont fund one. If they do, then they will only fund an indoor only one, as they say that outdoor use is not in their remit. However if you cant transfer independently, and so must use the same chair then outside use too is considered.

Yes same rules as wheelchair services. They will assess in the same way regardless of peronal or wheelchair budgets.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 09 Feb 2018, 13:12

I've done a brief bit of reading on personal health budgets. Apparently you can spend the money on anything that aids your healthcare needs (but not say rent, gambling, drugs, etc). For example if you have anger management issues you could use the money to buy a punch bag or fund boxing lessons, so you can bash people a bit harder (just joking on the last bit :)).

I assume it's instead of the NHS paying for you to see a psychologist? But I don't know I'm only guessing...
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby clairc » 09 Feb 2018, 15:14

Burgerman wrote:I think that if you can not show medical needs for a powerchair indoors they wont fund one. If they do, then they will only fund an indoor only one, as they say that outdoor use is not in their remit. However if you cant transfer independently, and so must use the same chair then outside use too is considered.

Yes same rules as wheelchair services. They will assess in the same way regardless of peronal or wheelchair budgets.


Thanks for the clarification.

It's frustrating for people in my position, too disabled to function normally but not disabled enough to qualify for help. I try and do the right thing, I work hard pushing through the pain to maintain my mobility and because of that I have to struggle to pay for equipment that keeps me independent. Yet if I give in to my conditions and allow myself to become frail then everything will be handed to me on a plate, free of charge.

Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate my limited mobility, I only wish independence didn't have such a high price, both physically and financially. Being able to leave your house on your own shouldn't be a luxury.
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Re: Personal Wheelchair Budgets

Postby Scooterman » 09 Feb 2018, 15:27

clairc wrote:It's frustrating for people in my position, too disabled to function normally but not disabled enough to qualify for help. I try and do the right thing, I work hard pushing through the pain to maintain my mobility and because of that I have to struggle to pay for equipment that keeps me independent. Yet if I give in to my conditions and allow myself to become frail then everything will be handed to me on a plate, free of charge.

Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate my limited mobility, I only wish independence didn't have such a high price, both physically and financially. Being able to leave your house on your own shouldn't be a luxury.


I'm in a similar situation as yourself except I can no longer mobilise on crutches although I can stand, and I stand as much as my legs will allow. I don't have or want care apart from a floor cleaner (my mum who's getting too old now). I just want a decent powerchair to give me more freedom as manual chairs and scooters no longer work for me. I've written to WCS but don't hold out much hope and will probably end up buying one myself :( That's why I'm trying to learn about powerchairs so I don't make an expensive mistake.
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