Ombudsman highlights boy's long wheelchair wait

An ombudsman has highlighted how a boy with cerebral palsy was left without a suitable wheelchair for seven months.

Elliot, from Hertfordshire, who is now six, fell and injured himself multiple times and was unable to attend nursery.

His case has been raised in a report by Paula Sussex, the public service ombudsman, who has called for improvements to the safety and independence of wheelchair users.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it would "carefully consider" the findings of the report.

Elliot's mother Jania said she was never told there would be such a long wait for the wheelchair, despite it having been requested by his physiotherapist.

"If we had known we would have explored other ways to get it, especially so that Elliot did not miss out on starting nursery at the same time as his twin brother," she said.

"That was very hard for him to see, his brother going to school while he couldn't."

She said she hoped the report would help improve the situation "not just for us, but for others, too".

Graham Woolner, 68, from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, has relied on a wheelchair for more than 15 years, having been diagnosed with the degenerative condition spinal muscular atrophy as a child.

He should have got it no later than August 2023 but did not receive it until September 2024.

When it did arrive, it did not work properly.

"I only made it 100yds before the batteries died. The battery issue was never resolved so I couldn't go anywhere for a year with any certainty that I would get there and back," he said.

"I like to be independent, go to town, and take my dogs for a walk but it got to the point where I wouldn't go out without my son in case I needed him to push me home. The wheelchair is effectively my legs – I need it to live my daily life."

Woolner only got a new fully working chair in October 2025.

The report showed a significant rise in complaints about wheelchair services, from eight in 2020/21 to 110 in 2025/26.

The ombudsman said more than 80% of the complaints concerned services delivered by an independent provider rather than the NHS.

The majority related to people waiting far longer than the 18-week target for new wheelchairs, equipment and replacement parts.

The ombudsman has made a number of recommendations to the government and NHS England (NHSE).

These include collecting reliable data on the number of wheelchair users and establishing stronger national oversight of wheelchair services.

"The voice of people who use wheelchairs is not being listened to enough. Complaints are a powerful source of insight about the issues that need to be tackled, but the current system is not set up to unlock that power," Sussex said.

The BBC has contacted NHSE for a response.

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