Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal Democrats

Services for Disabled Children and Young People

Peter Black: I move the following amendments in my name. Amendment 2: in point 1, delete 'children and young'.

Amendment 3: in point 2, delete 'paediatric'.

Amendment 4: add as a new point at the end of the motion:

I thank the Conservatives for bringing forward this debate today. First of all, I want to stress that these amendments are not an attempt to water down the motion. If anything, the intention is to strengthen it and equalise provision and standards of provision for all wheelchair users, so that no-one must wait longer than 12 months. Growing children who need wheelchairs are waiting absurd lengths of time, far in excess of the target times noted in the current framework standards. Adults are also waiting far too long. The thought of a small child being forced to crawl around at home because the NHS is unable to provide a specialist wheelchair is particularly appalling, and is unacceptable in the twenty-first century. However, equally distressing is the thought of an adult with a progressive neurological condition stranded at home because of unacceptable delays in the provision of specialist wheelchairs.

I do not doubt the Minister's concern about the considerable and unacceptable delays currently endured by patients in Wales. My concern is that these delays have been evident for some years and that we are still waiting for a satisfactory outcome, but there is no evidence to suggest that we can expect one soon.

The children's national service framework was established in 2005. It pledged a target of assessment for wheelchairs for children within six weeks, followed by the provision of a chair within a further eight weeks, so 14 weeks' wait in total. As Mark has already said, just one year later, a survey for Contact a Family showed that more than 80 per cent of families wait longer than the national service framework target of six weeks for an assessment, and more than 60 per cent of families wait longer than the NSF target of eight weeks for delivery. Crucially, when the framework was drawn up, the issuing organisation for wheelchairs, ALAS, was not consulted.

Point 4 of the Government's amendment 1 refers to endorsing the commitment to the standards of paediatric wheelchair services as set out in the children's national service framework. In May 2008, the Minister commissioned a review of wheelchair provision. The review covers wheelchairs and specialist seating mobility for adults and children, and a steering group and an expert advisory group were set up to provide information and evidence to the review. They were also to consider the NSF targets. My understanding is that it was originally intended that the review would report back to the Minister in January 2009, as the Minister answered a question to Kirsty Williams to that effect in the Chamber in July 2008. January 2009 was actually when the group held its first meeting, eight long months after it was established.

Furthermore, in response to the Disabled Children Matter Wales campaign, a rights-into-action task group was set up. Wheelchair issues had also been raised consistently at those group meetings, and yet there is still no firm indication of a way forward. It will come as no surprise to hear that everyone concerned is frustrated and upset that no solution has yet been found. No interim report has been produced, and, through its amendment, the Government has asked us yet again to look forward to the report of the wheelchair services review established by the Minister for Health and Social Services. We have all been looking forward to it for some time now, particularly those families with adults and children members who desperately need wheelchairs.

For four years, supply has been unable to keep up with demand, and it begs the question of whether the initial target of 14 weeks was realistic. A growing child requiring a specialised chair would certainly need speedy referral, assessment and chair delivery. Given the current waiting times, there is a very real possibility that, by the time the chair arrives, it will no longer be suitable and the assessment process will have to start all over again. Adult wheelchair provision is based on the convention that 'permanent' means longer than six months. There is no formal commitment or a minimum standard for delivery time. The Government has failed to suggest even a maximum waiting time for the provision of adult wheelchairs. That is why we are calling today for a much more consistent approach to this, and why we have proposed a minimum standard to ensure that no-one waits longer than 12 months for a wheelchair.

The disbanding of Health Commission Wales and the establishment of the new local health boards give us the ideal opportunity to set measurable criteria for adult wheelchair services and to spur on the deliberations of the wheelchair review. I urge Members to set aside the politics of this and to consider the huge benefits that they can bring to wheelchair users by supporting our amendments and the amended motion and getting some action to deliver what we all want to see.