Sick OAP 'is denied lifeline' service

Apr 20 2007 By Emma Cullwick, Birmingham Mail

A SERIOUSLY ill Midland pensioner is being denied desperately needed care because his wheelchair is too big, his distraught wife has claimed.

Frail 76-year-old Harold Barton has been unable to talk or walk since being diagnosed with a raft of illnesses, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and incontinence.

His wife of 54 years Betty, aged 72, struggles to cope as his full-time carer and her only respite came three days a week when Harold attended the Colebrook Centre, Bosworth Drive, Chelmsley Wood.

But suddenly the couple's world was shattered when they were told Harold, a former MG Rover worker, was being "suspended" from the centre because of the size of his new wheelchair.

Furious Betty, of Acacia Avenue, in Kingshurst, said: "He had been using the centre for seven years and then they had these health and safety checks and they said he couldn't go any more because his legs were hanging over the foot rest of his wheelchair and it was posing a risk."

But the retired care home worker was left flabbergasted when she was then told Harold's chair was now too big.

"They said it was too big for the minibus that is used to take him to and from the centre, I just couldn't believe it," said the mum-of-six, grandmother of 12 and great grandmother of five.

"He fits into the minibus in the chair but they said that if the bus drove over a bump in the road he would risk bumping his head.

"The centre was fabulous, it was like a lifeline for us."

She said social services at Solihull Primary Care Trust had failed to replace Harold's wheelchair with an appropriate sized one and had told her she would need to spend £60 on hiring a special bus for each journey he would need to take to the centre.

Fiona McGillckd, social care delivery manager at the trust, said: "We can confirm that we have received a formal complaint from Mr Barton's family and that we are working towards resolving all the issues raised."