The below models and guidelines are useful to review. They can inform good practice when procuring wheelchairs or mobility aids, as well as establishing strong standards for these pieces of equipment.
The Operating Model for NHS - Commissioned Wheelchair Service has been developed by the National Wheelchair Managers Forum (NWMF) in collaboration with, amongst others, wheelchair users and the Postural Mobility Group (PMG). It is a set of principles that reflect the needs of wheelchair users, describe the minimum requirements and highlight best practice. The principles work in accordance with legal requirements.
The Model Service Specification was written in 2017 and is likely to be updated as it still refers to CCGs rather than ICBs. NHS England cannot mandate ICBs to follow the service specification as each one is an independent body, however both NHS England and the Wheelchair Alliance would expect services to be commissioned and provided in line with it as it is an example of best practice. The Wheelchair Alliance is currently linking with some ICBs asking them to sign up to delivering services in line with the specification and the Wheelchair Charter as a minimum – we believe things could be better however a minimum baseline is a beginning.
The Healthcare Standards for NHS commissioned wheelchair services was written and published in 2015 by the National Wheelchair Managers Forum. NHS England has said on its website that it is an example of best practice which commissioners (the ICBs) should follow, along with the Wheelchair Charter. You may want to use it when talking to your NHS wheelchair service about your needs when considering your first wheelchair, when needing a replacement or when looking for repairs to be carried out.
This Allied Health Professionals Referral to Treat Guide is another document mentioned on the NHS England website. It was published in 2011. We are very aware that that was over a decade ago and are talking to NHS England about revisions to these documents. We are aware that there is ongoing work on the dataset, which was last reviewed in 2015. The dataset is the information that ICBs will need to submit so that NHS England, and anyone wishing to look at the data, can see how wheelchair services are performing against a number of different areas. We will be talking every quarter with NHS England about the results, what they mean and actions that need to happen should the performance fall below that which is expected.