Wheelchair Assessment Service

Our service aims to aid mobility, independence, wellbeing and quality of life for individuals who have a long-term disability or medical condition that significantly affects their ability to walk and is likely to limit them for at least six months.

Assessments are carried out in clinics held at the Re-enablement Service Centre in Norwich. We are also able to provide some clinic appointments at our Parkview Clinic in King's Lynn. Home visits are offered in exceptional circumstances only.

Wheelchairs - Patient Information Leaflet

 

Our clinicians provide a thorough assessment process in order to establish the most beneficial wheelchair we can provide for our patients. This can involve:

• Wheelchair assessment
• Postural assessment
• Pressure care needs
• Alterations and adjustments, to meet specific needs.
• Re-assessment, where patients needs/requirements have changed.

If you have not visited the service before, an initial referral needs to be made via a healthcare professional involved in your care. For example:

• Your GP
• A Community Nurse
• An Occupational Therapist
• A Physiotherapist

After the initial referral, the Wheelchair Assessment Service accepts self-referrals from individuals registered with the service.

If we should ask you to take some measurements to support information gathering during the triage stage, please Click here to download our measurements guide sheet, explaining the measurements required for assessment

While you may experience some waiting time for an assessment or to receive an appropriate wheelchair, the information below is to inform you about the supportive services available during this period.

Red Cross

People of all ages can hire a wheelchair on a donation basis from Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Sheringham, Kings Lynn, North Walsham, Holt and Ipswich. Tel: 0300 456 1914 or 01603 623041.

 

ShopMobility 

ShopMobility offers free hired manual and power chairs and mobility scooters for people with long- or short-term restricted mobility:

Level 1 car park at Chantry Place Shopping Centre.

St James Car Park

Clough Lane

Kings Lynn

Norfolk

PE30 1BT

Tel: 01603 365100

Email: shopmobility@equallives.org.uk

 

Broadland Wheelchair & Mobility Scooter Hire 

Broadland Mobility offer short-term, all-age, bespoke wheelchair and mobility scooter hire options. Broadland Mobility is based in Great Yarmouth:

102- 105 St. Nicholas Road

Great Yarmouth

NR30 1NL

Tel: 0800 1510255 or 07759777125 

Email: info@broadlandmobility.co.uk

 

Buying a wheelchair

You may want to purchase a wheelchair and not wait for an NHS assessment. It’s important to know that you don’t have to pay VAT on a wheelchair if you or the person you’re buying it for is chronically ill or disabled. The right wheelchair will depend on your needs, funding and what you need to use it for. Think about your needs and make a list of any challenges you have getting around and tasks that you find most difficult. Also consider any non-negotiable features your wheelchair must have. It can also help to think about:

• Will you push yourself/get pushed by someone? 
• How often will you use your chair and for what length of time?
• Will it need to be able to be transported? 
• If you need to use it indoors or outdoors or both
• What your budget is
• How much it will cost to maintain and repair
• Do you need something custom-made?

Please note that if you decide to purchase your own wheelchair privately we will not be able to support with the funding in retrospect. Please inform the Wheelchair Service if you do decide to purchase privately so that we can take you off the waiting list.

 

Other useful links

The Norfolk Millennium Trust

01603 623958

ERS Medical Patient Transport

0333 240 4100

Norwich Door to Door Mobility Transport

01603 776735

Turn 2 Us

Back Up Trust Wheelchair Skills

Telephone: 01603 216956 / 01603 216957

Email: wheelchair.services@nchc.nhs.uk

Our address:

Re-enablement Services Centre

Julian Hospital

Site 201 Bowthorpe Road

Norwich

NR2 3UD

Park View Bungalow

2 Birch Tree Close

PE30 5QD

 

Opening hours: 8am - 4pm, Monday - Friday

 

Can’t make your appointment?

If you cannot attend your assigned appointment date/time, please contact us in advance to let us know.

This will help us maintain a more efficient and effective service.

Our Wheelchair Repairs Service offers support, maintenance and repairs.

NHS wheelchairs provided on loan are maintained by the Wheelchair Repairs Service (WRS). The WRS will visit yearly to inspect the wheelchair. If there are any problems or the wheelchair hasn’t been inspected with in its service due date it is the patient's responsibility to contact the WRS to request a visit.

Personal Health Budget wheelchairs (see below for more details) are the responsibility of the patient to have the wheelchair maintained. The WRS will not maintain any wheelchairs not provided by the service.

Please note that there are some decisions that the Wheelchair Repairs Service technicians cannot make, as they need to be approved by a clinician. WRS will contact a clinician if a decision needs to be made outside of their remit. You are also welcome to contact the Wheelchair Assessment Service if there is anything our technicians cannot help you with.

The WRS operates within the hours of 8am-4pm, Monday to Friday.

For any maintenance, repairs, broken, worn or faulty equipment, please contact:

Wheelchair Repair Service: 01603 780914, 01603 780915 or via email: wheelchair.repairs@nchc.nhs.uk

Our address

The Red House 

160 Hellesdon Park Road

Hellesdon Park Industrial Estate 

NR6 5DR

We also offer an out of hours emergency service. This runs from 4pm-9pm Monday - Friday, and on weekends and Bank Holidays 9am - 9pm. Please call us on 07810 056222 for all emergencies.

Please note that the WRS does not provide roadside recoveries.

If you require a repair while travelling outside of Norfolk, but in the UK, please contact the service who will direct you to a local wheelchair service provider.

Returning old or unused equipment

If you no longer require or use a wheelchair provided by our service, please call us on 01603 780914 to arrange for your equipment to be collected.

We can repair, recycle and reuse old or unwanted wheelchairs.

The Personal Health Budget Scheme (formally the Voucher Scheme) is available to anyone who meets equipment provision criteria and would like an alternative to the wheelchairs NCH&C provides.

More information can be found at https://www.england.nhs.uk/personal-health-budgets/personal-wheelchair-budgets/

There are two types of Personal Health Budget’s that can be used in our service at this time. The Notional Wheelchair Budget and Third Party Wheelchair Budget.

Notional personal wheelchair budget

This is where the person chooses to use their personal wheelchair budget within the NHS commissioned services and the service purchases and provides the chair. This also offers the option for contributions to the personal wheelchair budget to enhance the wheelchair people can access. For example, someone may be eligible for a powered wheelchair, but they would like to have a seat riser added. The person can have the powered wheelchair provided by the NHS, but then pay the difference to have a seat riser added. Sometimes this is referred to as a ‘top up’ voucher. A person can pay for the addition or approach a charity or other funding body. The Wheelchair Repairs Service would still be responsible for servicing the wheelchair, but should any parts need replacing on the additional elements, the cost will be charged to the patient.

Third party personal wheelchair budget

The third party personal wheel chair budget would have been known previously as an independent voucher. The independent provider receives the personal budget by invoicing the NHS. This may also be contributed to as above.

The wheelchair user will own the wheelchair and be responsible for its maintenance and repair.

If you are using the wheelchair service and are interested in the voucher scheme, please ask your clinician for more information.

Once you have chosen the personal health budget route, unless your clinical needs or requirements change, you will not be eligible for another Personal Health Budget for the next 5 years.

Notional Personal Wheelchair Budget with top-up accessories

This option allows you to pay for agreed additions that the NHS does not fund to be fitted to NHS wheelchairs. For example, seat risers, or attendant controls on powered wheelchairs.

The NHS will own the wheelchair and fund maintenance - excluding any repairs/replacements to any top-up accessories. The cost of parts for these will be charged to you, however labour costs will not be charged.

Personal Wheelchair Budget

 

These films were produced by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

A beginner’s guide to NHS wheelchairs – The Parts of a Wheelchair

A beginner’s guide to NHS wheelchairs – Using a Wheelchair

A beginner’s guide to NHS wheelchairs – Maintenance

A beginner’s guide to NHS wheelchairs – Your NHS Wheelchair

If you're referred to hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests by a doctor, dentist or another primary care health professional, you may be able to claim a refund of reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS). Find out more about the HTCS.

 

How to have your say

A guide for friends and family carers about ways to help us improve the experience of receiving care from our Service.
How to have your say leaflet