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Don’t Push Me Around!
About the campaign
In 2006 Whizz-Kidz launched its first major campaign to improve the provision of NHS wheelchair services for children in the UK, and make sure that all disabled children get the right start in life.
Our 'Don't Push Me Around !' report published with Barnardo's found that over sixty percent of children who were independently surveyed said they were forced to use unsuitable wheelchairs.
Over 70,000 children need a wheelchair to satisfy basic human rights, and lead a full and active childhood, just like their friends. But thousands of families face waits of over a year or are simply unable to access to the mobility equipment they need through their local NHS wheelchair service. This is totally unacceptable and change is long overdue.
‘A child would not be expected to wait six months for a new pair of shoes if they had outgrown them and yet children are regularly being told by the NHS they must wait for a wheelchair'
Ruth Owen, Chief Executive, Whizz-Kidz
Read our Don’t Push Me Around! report, which is also available in Welsh
Help us to campaign
We need your help to make sure that wheelchair services meet the needs of young disabled people in the UK, and are treated as a national and local priority in the Government’s new spending plans for 2008-2011!
To find out how you can help, please go to join our campaign today.
More information about the major challenges faced by children and families, and our key recommendations to the Government are outlined below. Visit the policy developments page to find out more about key Government commitments and the current reform of services for disabled children.
Major challenges
The report highlighted the major challenges faced by parents and disabled children:
- Thousands of families are unable to access age-appropriate mobility equipment when they need it.
- Wheelchair services face severe funding shortages. This has resulted in strict eligibility criteria which discriminates against children and young people
- Parents of disabled children who face significant financial pressures have no option but to apply for charitable support for essential mobility equipment
- Parents and young people have limited access to the information, support, training, and specialist advice they need
The right wheelchair at the right time
Providing the right wheelchair is essential in order to satisfy basic human rights, and is often the first step towards achieving independent living in the future. It supports a child's ability to enjoy a full and active childhood, and enables them to develop the skills and confidence they need to participate fully at school, take part in social activities, and enjoy the same opportunities as their non-disabled friends.
A parent of Jess, aged 12 told us:
"Our local wheelchair service provided Jess with heavy, bulky wheelchairs that gave her no independence at all. We know, in hindsight, that Jess lost valuable time during the years spent in NHS Wheelchairs. It was during these "lost" years that she became more passive and reliant on us to move her around and it has been very hard to reverse the damage this has caused"
Our call to action
Our campaign calls on the Government to honour its recent ‘Aiming High’ commitment to maximise the mobility of disabled children, and to:
- Reform the wheelchair services so that all disabled children receive a full assessment of their health and full development needs in all of the places they spend time
- Increase funding to reduce the waiting times for wheelchairs and improve the quality of mobility equipment provided to children and young people
- Monitor the performance of local services against agreed standards for wheelchair provision
- Collect better information on disabled children with mobility needs so that services can be effectively planned and budgeted for in the future.
For a copy of our full policy recommendations please email us or call 020 7798 6102.
Other Campaigns
Every Disabled Child Matters
Whizz-Kidz is a supporter of the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign (EDCM). Like EDCM, we want all disabled children and their families to have the right to the services and support they need to live ordinary lives.
Visit the EDCM website to find out more and to sign up as a supporter.
End Child Poverty
Whizz-Kidz is a member of the End Child Poverty campaign which is urging the Government to take action to meet its target to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Families with a disabled child face 3 times the cost of living compared to families raising a non-disabled child, and are 50% more likely to be in debt.
To find out more and to support the campaign, visit the ECP website.
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My Hippo Powered chair enables me to get myself to school, have days out, and I can now see over fences and through windows! I can also recline the chair when I need a rest!