Local commissioning weaknesses are disrupting education and independent living for some wheelchair users in England, prompting the Public Service Ombudsman to call for stronger national oversight of services.
The report, Strengthening NHS wheelchair services: commissioning with confidence, was published Nov. 11. The office counted 110 complaints in 2025/26, compared with eight in 2020/21. More than four in five involved services provided by independent companies. Most complainants described waits for equipment or parts that exceeded the 18-week target.
One case involved a boy with cerebral palsy who missed nursery and specialist therapies during a seven-month wait for a suitable wheelchair. His family used an adapted buggy, and he was injured in several falls. In another case, wheelchair user Graham Woolner needed a replacement chair by August 2023. The chair delivered in September 2024 did not work properly; he received one that worked in October 2025. “The wheelchair is effectively my legs,” Woolner said.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) commission local wheelchair services, which may be run by NHS bodies or contracted to independent providers. The Ombudsman identified unreliable information about local need, limited competition among providers, unclear routes for escalating poor performance and weak information-sharing between ICBs. It also said funding and eligibility arrangements do not adequately support users’ social, educational and employment outcomes.
The report recommends stronger national oversight and data, support for ICBs to commission sustainable, person-centred services, and a consistent way to measure users’ experiences and outcomes. The Ombudsman says effective wheelchair services can help children access education and adults work and live independently, reduce inequalities and help avoid higher health and social-care costs. It also says service failures can put users’ safety, dignity and independence at risk.
NHS England’s Wheelchair Quality Framework lists 92% of users receiving a wheelchair within 18 weeks or sooner as a quality indicator. The report does not give an implementation deadline for its recommendations.
Most complaints about independent providers received by the Ombudsman related to AJM Healthcare. The office said the company’s management team has since changed and that it accepted investigation findings and recommendations. AJM CEO Mat Pickering said the company had revised wait-list management and user updates, improved coordination with commissioners and suppliers, and changed its complaints process.
