Do you accept NHS Wheelchair Vouchers or Personal Wheelchair Budgets?

If you’re in receipt of an NHS Wheelchair Voucher or Personal Wheelchair Budget, you’re probably looking for wheelchair suppliers who accept them!

It’s a question which potential customers often ask us and the good news is yes, you can use your wheelchair voucher or personal budget at Felgains.

However, you may just have heard that you can get a wheelchair from the NHS, but you don’t how to. So, let’s give a brief introduction to NHS Wheelchair Services and what they offer.

What are NHS Wheelchair Services?

Local NHS Wheelchair Services exist across the country for the purpose of providing wheelchairs, both manual and powered, and related accessories to people who have a long-term disability or medical condition which affects their mobility.

So how do you access your local wheelchair service? You will need a referral for an assessment by a registered healthcare professional such as a GP, physiotherapist or occupational therapist.

Your wheelchair service will assess your needs and decide if you need a wheelchair and what type.

What is an NHS Wheelchair Voucher or Personal Wheelchair Budget?

For many years, some NHS Wheelchair Services have offered a wheelchair voucher scheme so you can have greater choice over what wheelchair you get.

More recently, the NHS has phased out the Wheelchair Voucher Scheme and instead moved towards Personal Wheelchair Budgets (PWB). This is a more comprehensive scheme and one to which some now have a legal right. Not all NHS Wheelchair Services offer exactly the same packages, so it’s important to check what’s available locally.

However, here’s an overview of the types of Personal Wheelchair Budget which may be available to you:

• Notional: You will be offered a free NHS wheelchair. This will be the most suitable wheelchair the service can provide you with based on what they have assessed your individual needs to be. The value of this wheelchair is the value of your PWB. The wheelchair remains the property of your NHS Wheelchair Service, who will carry out all maintenance.
• Notional Plus (Top Up): You can choose additional features to upgrade or ‘top up’ the wheelchair prescribed by the service, but you will have to pay for this extra cost. The wheelchair remains the property of your NHS Wheelchair Service, who will carry out all maintenance. You may be liable, however, to pay for cost of maintenance or replacement parts on the extras you’ve opted for. Extra features may include hub brakes or a powered seat riser on a powerchair. You can’t use the Top Up option for power assist devices for manual wheelchairs.
• Notional Plus (Alternative): You can choose an alternative wheelchair from the range your NHS Wheelchair Service offers and pay for the extra cost. It must be approved by the service, who will retain ownership of the chair and responsibility for maintenance.
• Third Party: You choose to use your PWB to buy a wheelchair with servicing and maintenance from an independent supplier (such as Felgains), outside the range your NHS Wheelchair Service offers. The independent provider invoices your NHS Wheelchair Service for the value of your PWB, which may be part payment depending on the options you’ve chosen.

The specification of wheelchairs available through NHS Wheelchair Vouchers or Personal Budgets range from the best off-the-shelf manual wheelchair models, to bespoke active wheelchairs and to bespoke powerchairs.

How can you use your NHS Personal Wheelchair Budget with Felgains?

Even within the East Anglia region that Felgains covers, there are variations in what the local wheelchair services offer. However, we’ll give you an overview of how the process would typically work.

1. Felgains Assessment

You come to Felgains with an outline specification for a powered or manual wheelchair, which has been provided to you following a wheelchair service assessment. Our expert assessors will then work with you to confirm the best specification for your needs and budget.

2. Purchase Approval

Felgains provide this final specification to the Wheelchair Service for approval. You will receive confirmation of this approval and can place your order with Felgains.

3. Handover

Felgains orders your wheelchair from the chosen manufacturer. Once it’s arrived with us, we’ll set up then arrange handover with you. This session is an opportunity to confirm the set up is exactly how you need it to be and resolve any questions you may have about using your chair.

4. Invoice

Felgains raises an invoice to the Wheelchair Service for the value of your PWB. If you’ve chosen additional features or options above the value of your PWB, we’ll also raise an invoice for you or another contributor to pay directly.

5. After Care

Felgains handle the warranty on your wheelchair as well as annual servicing. Annual servicing will be invoiced as per the agreement with the Wheelchair Service. We also remain on hand for further support you may require with the set up of your chair.

Summary

I trust this has given you a good guide to how you can use your NHS Wheelchair Voucher or Budget with Felgains. You may still have some questions specific to your situation. If so, our advisors would love to talk with you – as always, just get in touch!

Get in touch

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