Complaints rose from 8 in 2020–21 to 110 in 2025–26, prompting an investigation that documents lost independence and missed education. The NHS says commissioners must meet providers regularly to tackle delays.
People in England face waits of up to 2 years for wheelchairs because of delays involving NHS bodies and private suppliers, an investigation by England’s parliamentary and health service ombudsman, Paula Sussex, has found. Sussex said the delays limit users’ independence and can cause physical pain and emotional distress.
Sussex launched the investigation after complaints about NHS wheelchair provision rose sharply. The Guardian said 4 in 5 complaints received concern a handful of private firms supplying wheelchairs to at least half of the children and adults who need one.
Elliot Cruz Gardiyanoglu, 6, waited 7 months for a wheelchair when he was 3. Elliot, who has cerebral palsy, could not start nursery alongside his twin brother or access specialist therapy. While waiting, he fell from the adapted buggy his parents were using and hurt himself several times.
His mother, Jania Cruz, said the family had not been warned about the long wait and would have explored alternatives. She said it was very hard for Elliot to see his brother going to school while he could not.
Graham Woolner, who has the degenerative condition spinal muscular atrophy, was due a new wheelchair by August 2023. It arrived in September 2024 but did not work properly. He received equipment in full working order in October 2025.
Woolner said unresolved battery problems left him unable to travel confidently for a year. Eventually, he would not go out without his son in case he needed someone to push him home.
Rachel Perrin, director of Newlife, a charity for disabled children, said unsuitable or absent wheelchairs can be dangerous, keep families at home and prevent children from attending school or joining activities. Wheelchair Alliance chief executive Nick Goldup said the report highlighted systemic problems, and that getting provision right gives people freedom to live their lives and contribute to society.
The ministry said on 10 November that it summoned Ambassador Lilian Darii and expelled the employee in response to Moldova’s October 23 expulsion of a Russian embassy employee.
Integrated care boards, the regional NHS bodies that commission wheelchair services, have unreliable information about local need, Sussex said. She described an uncompetitive market dominated by a handful of private providers and criticized boards for failing to share information adequately about firms providing poor services.
Sussex also identified a regulatory gap. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency oversees wheelchair equipment. But assessment, fitting and repair services described in the report fall outside the remit of the Care Quality Commission, the NHS care watchdog, because they are not supervised by a health professional.
An NHS spokesperson called long waits unacceptable, saying they deny people independence and quality of life. The spokesperson said its wheelchair quality framework, developed with wheelchair users, sets a performance target for 92% of people to receive equipment within 18 weeks.
The spokesperson said the framework requires commissioners to hold regular performance meetings with providers to identify and tackle delays.
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