You may be surprised to learn that the NHS doesn't provide wheelchairs or mobility aids if they are required for less than 6 months, leaving millions of people to rely on crutches or buying equipment out of their own pocket.
After World War One the Red Cross started providing wheelchairs on loan, helping injured servicemen and civilians in Britain. The service continued to grow and when the NHS was established in 1948 the Red Cross continued to manage the service.
The Red Cross continues to support people temporarily needing a wheelchair but now, due to overwhelming demand, they charge for their wheelchair services. We, at LendoCare, want to help support this by offering more people access to wheelchair hire services.
Currently, NHS wheelchair services are not required to meet the short-term needs of patients.
This means that while patients suffering from long-term or chronic disabilities are entitled to NHS equipment, those with acute difficulties—broken legs or post-operative patients—are left to fend for themselves. This leaves many short-term wheelchair users without a solution.
It's estimated that 8% (4.3 million) of adults in the UK have experienced a short-term mobility issue within the last 12 months. For many of these cases, a temporary wheelchair would have been life-changing.
LendoCare offers short-term hire of wheelchairs and mobility aids to give people affordable access to mobility and easy recovery, removing the need to rely on uncomfortable crutches.
Wheelchair hire in the UK started out as an effort to support the returning soldiers of World War One. Unfortunately, more soldiers are again returning home from the front lines injured, and these services are once more greatly needed.
Here at LendoCare, we donate a percentage of our profits to purchasing equipment for Ukrainian Soldiers. Our goal is to launch a charitable equipment loan service with the hope that we can make a difference for those who have risked their lives to protect independence.