Kent and Medway Wheelchair Service
What services do we provide?
The Wheelchair & Repair Service provides fully integrated wheelchair and postural management services to eligible residents of Kent and Medway on behalf of the NHS.
Our dedicated team will assess and prescribe wheelchairs, postural support and pressure cushions to meet your clinical and mobility needs. Our repair team will repair and maintain equipment provided to you. We work closely with community teams to ensure you receive a holistic assessment and are aware of all the options available to you.
Assessments
We provide all assessments at our specially designed, modern service centres in Ashford and Gillingham.
Custom Seating
Our in house experts provide special seating and mobility systems tailored to your needs.
Repairs & Maintenance
We provide a flexible repair and maintenance service to keep your wheelchair in good working order.
Personal Wheelchair Budgets
A Personal Wheelchair Budget, or PWB, is available to eligible service users, to support wider wheelchair choice within NHS commissioned services.
Community Engagement
Our Community Health and Engagement Officer will help connect you to other resources and support.
Eligibility and Referrals to the Wheelchair Service
New to the Wheelchair Service
If you have never used the Wheelchair Service before, you will need a referral from a qualified healthcare professional. This could be your:
- General Practitioner (GP)
- Occupational Therapist / Physiotherapist
- Hospital Consultant
If you are a healthcare professional and want to refer to our service please go to the Professionals page for more information. You can also download our referral forms:
Kent & Medway wheelchair referral form download
Kent & Medway pressure cushion referral form download
if you are a GP and want to refer to our service for a manual wheelchair only you can download our GP referral form below. This form is also imbedded into the GP databases.
Eligibility
To see if you are eligible and to find out more information, please refer to the eligibility criteria which you can download here.
Already known to the Wheelchair Service?
If you are already known to the Wheelchair Service and have equipment on loan from us, you can request a reassessment of your needs. Please complete the request for reassessment form here. We may need to ask a healthcare practitioner to complete a new referral form in some circumstances.
Alternatively, you can call the Service Centre who will support your request.
Receipt of Referral
When we have received your referral, a member of our clinical team will review the information provided. All referrals are prioritised according to the Kent and Medway Wheelchair Service specification and criteria.
We may need to contact you or the professional that referred you to find out more information or discuss your needs. We will then arrange one of the following options for you:
- Issue of a suitable wheelchair, handed over by one of our field service engineers, without the need to see a clinician.
- Your name will be added to the appropriate waiting list for further assessment of your specific needs.
- If you are not eligible for provision of equipment from our service, you will receive a further letter advising you of this.
Short Term Loan
If you require a wheelchair for short term and you do not meet the eligibility criteria, please contact British Red Cross by clicking the box below:
About Our Service Centres
We provide the Wheelchair Service from our service centres in Ashford and Gillingham. These sites were chosen as they are convenient and easy to access for many people.
Both sites have accessible disabled parking areas.
We have waiting areas with water coolers, but please bring any snacks or drinks you are likely to need. We have accessible toilets with a ceiling track hoist. Our clinic rooms have hoists and medical plinths. Clinic rooms are air conditioned.
Opening Times
The services are open Monday to Friday 8am-5pm.
Location and Contact
We have included interactive maps below. You can click on these maps to get directions if you’re driving or using public transport.
We are unable to provide transport, however you can arrange transport through your GP.
Please contact us if you need help to arrange your journey. We can provide you with directions in different formats or extra guidance.
Inca House, Wotton Road
Ashford
Kent
TN23 6LL
Telephone: 0330 124 4485
Email: kentandmedwaywcs@rosscare.co.uk
What3words: liver.closed.folks
1 Ambley Green
Gillingham
Kent
ME8 0NJ
Telephone: 0330 124 4485
Email: kentandmedwaywcs@rosscare.co.uk
What3words: victory.gamer,poses
Wheelchair Repairs
If you would like to request a wheelchair repair, please complete the online form available here.
We will make an appointment to attend your location for a repair within 5 days. Acquiring replacement parts for some complex chairs may require completion to take a little longer.
Out of hours Emergency Repair Service
If you have an emergency repair that needs attending to outside of normal working hours, please call 0330 124 4485 (our main number shall redirect to staff on-call).
You will be directed to the out-of-hours service team, who will be happy to assist you.
Providing Feedback
We are always pleased to hear positive experiences or suggestions from our service users and colleagues. All feedback is used to help improve the service.
If you attend an appointment with us, please complete an NHS Friends & Family survey. You can complete this in the service or online, please click the button below to watch a short YouTube video with more information:
We are committed to service user involvement in the effective design and delivery of our service. If you would like to be involved, please contact us via the link.
You can also provide feedback to any member of our staff, at any time, or by using any of the contact methods on this page.
If you would like to send a ‘thank you’ compliment to the team, please use the form at the bottom of this page. These messages let us know when things are working well – we share best practices across the UK, helping to improve wheelchair services. Your message will be shared with the appropriate members of our team.
If you have not received the level of service you expect from us, then we want you to tell us as soon as possible. By doing so, you can help us get to the bottom of the problem quickly and effectively. We take your concerns and complaints very seriously, and they are always treated in the strictest of confidence. We will investigate your concerns as quickly as possible, and work with you to find an appropriate solution.
We encourage you to provide your feedback directly to the Wheelchair Service in the first instance, as this will allow us to complete our investigations more quickly. If we cannot resolve the situation to your satisfaction, you can choose to refer the matter to our head office using the details here.
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