NHS: Wheelchair Services

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 24th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right, and his comments about buildings apply not just to NHS buildings either but to the whole range. I can assure the noble Lord that across government we have continuing discussions about this, because it is not, as the noble Lord says, just a matter of getting the right wheelchair; it is also about them being accessible in terms of the buildings. It is also the reason that I mentioned to his noble friend about adaptations to people’s homes so that wheelchairs can be used there too.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that one of the problems is that the need is often not identified until the person is heading for discharge from hospital, whereas if it was foreseen at a much earlier stage and there was proper co-ordinated planning between health and social care, a great deal of these delays could be reduced? Will the Minister do all that she can to improve the relationship between health and social care at local level?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I would certainly agree that timely provision of wheelchairs and other aids and adaptations does support people not only to remain as independent as possible for as long as possible but to leave a hospital setting if that is in their best interests. We now have the better care fund as a framework for integrated care boards, the NHS and local authorities to make joint plans and to pool budgets for the very purpose the noble Lord mentions, which is about delivering better joined-up care. That can indeed include wheelchairs. That is a very systematic approach, doing exactly what the noble Lord is requesting.