A missive from the depths

Adventures with wheelchair services

I thought I would provide a brief glimpse into the world of disability. You might think that living in a wheelchair was bad enough. But you also have to factor in wheelchair services. Here's a copy of the letter of complaint I sent this morning to my local one.

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To whom it may concern

I am writing to make a formal complaint about the poor quality of service provided at AJM wheelchair service, Walthamstow.

Specifically, I would like to complain about the new clinical lead, ‘***** Clinical Lead’. I am confident that that is not in fact his second name, however, when I phoned Walthamstow AJM to obtain this information, I was denied it by the rude and unprofessional phone operator who simply told me “there is only one ***** here” and refused to divulge further information despite my explaining that I wished to make a formal complaint about a specific member of staff.

I have so far had two encounters with *****, and both of which have been deeply unsatisfactory.

The first was when I travelled to the AGM Walthamstow offices to pick up my new prescription wheelchair. Things got off to a bad start when ***** thought it would be a problem that I needed to be hoisted from my existing chair onto a plinth, whilst the new chair was set up. For clarity, I am a full-time wheelchair user with complete tetraplegia – hence why I was collecting a full power chair. I cannot use my hands, let alone stand. Yet ***** repeatedly asked me if I was able to transfer out of the chair with assistance in a standing position. After explaining that I simply could not do this, and pointing to the fact there were slings hanging in the room to use for hoisting, I was able to persuade him and a colleague to hoist me onto the plinth.

When I was later hoisted to the new chair, ***** repeatedly asked me if it was “comfortable”. To repeat, I am a complete tetraplegic: I have no sensation from the neck down. Asking me if I am comfortable on a wheelchair is inappropriate on multiple levels, both professionally, physiologically, and as a matter of respect. He appeared to lack the most basic awareness of my condition. I tried to explain this but he did not seem to understand.

Eventually I was discharge with the new chair, but for the remainder of the day, I had severe problems with managing to breathe properly, feeling I was being tipped forward constantly, whilst my legs repeatedly spasmed out of position on the wheelchair plates. My suspicions that the chair had not been set up correctly were confirmed when my private physio, who is a spinal cord injury specialist, visited me. She was appalled, and flatly declared that I must not sit in the chair until an engineer had altered multiple specifications, as it was not safe for me. These included the base being completely the wrong length meaning that my legs were in dangerous pressurised contact with sections of the chair; the back rest being at the wrong height; the cushion being the wrong size and having been fitted to the chair rather than to my body; the foot plates being set far too wide leaving my legs sprayed in a dangerously pressurising position; the general set up providing inadequate postural support, hence causing my difficulties in breathing. To emphasise: the clinical lead at Walthamstow AJM saw no problem in allowing me to leave in a chair set up so incorrectly that a specialist physiotherapist declared it dangerous.

My second encounter with ***** was this morning, when he telephoned me to ask me to provide him with the serial number on the bottom of my wheelchair. That is, he somehow expected a full-time wheelchair user to get out of the wheelchair, crouch down on the floor, and read a serial number to him. He also suggested that I use my phone to take a picture of it – something impossible for me due to my massively reduced hand function. Things were further complicated by the fact his English of such a poor quality that he used the wrong words to try and explain what he wanted me to do (he kept telling me to look at the “levels attached to the wheelchair”), and seemed incapable of following me when I explained that I cannot get out of the wheelchair. Things became so confused that I literally heard colleagues of his in the background instructing him on what to say. It thus appears that not only does ***** lack the most basic understanding of the job he is supposed to be doing, but he also lacks the basic English language skills required to communicate with clients.

It is my view that he is simply not competent to be doing the job he is employed for. Given the crucial importance of the role of a clinical lead for wheelchair users, I would urge AJM to review the situation as a matter of urgency.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr Paul Sagar