Wife shells out £2,000 to give husband MND pain relief
They were told NHS wheelchair service had run out of money
By emma christie

Published: 25/02/2009



The wife of a man suffering from a crippling terminal disease was yesterday forced to use almost £2,000 of her savings to buy a second-hand wheelchair after an NHS Grampian service said it was out of cash.

Christine Lester, of Auchenhalrig, near Spey Bay, cares for her 49-year-old husband Tim who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) more than two years ago.

At the end of last year Mr Lester’s GP and physiotherapist told the mobility and rehabilitation service (Mars) in Aberdeen he needed an upgrade to his current chair.

But Mrs Lester said she was forced to dip into her own savings after a Mars manager contacted her yesterday to say it could not start the order process until April as it had run out of money.

Last night NHS Grampian said the part had already been ordered and would be ready the first week in April.

But Mrs Lester said she was wholly unsatisfied with the service offered by Mars.

Mr Lester was diagnosed with MND in 2006 and in October last year was told he had 12 months left to live.

Mrs Lester claimed her husband had not been seen by Mars since June, despite his rapidly changing and deteriorating condition.

She said her husband’s ankles and feet were very swollen and painful and his physiotherapist had advised Mars that his wheelchair needed upgraded to include a part which would raise his legs to help reduce the swelling.

Mrs Lester, 49, claimed Mars told the physiotherapist any recommendations would need to come from his GP.

The GP then wrote a letter to the service as requested.

The saga concluded with the telephone call yesterday, after which Mrs Lester decided to buy an £1,800 wheelchair with her own money.

She said: “I’m so appalled. We feel like we have been going round and round in circles. We’re able to stand up for ourselves. God help people who can’t or don’t have the ability. We’ve got savings. What happens to those other people?”

Mrs Lester also criticised the service’s review system, claiming she was told it was her responsibility to refer him.

She said: “We’re not healthcare professionals. We’re not really the best people to do that.

“It’s obviously a service teetering on the edge of collapse.”

Last night a spokesman for NHS Grampian said: “The part for Mr Lester's wheelchair is on order. We expect delivery around the first week of April, and will arrange an appointment as quickly as possible to have it fitted.

“In the meantime, we have offered advice about how to alleviate the discomfort Mr Lester is having.”

He added that “every service has a budget which it has to manage” and said judgments and demands had to be prioritised.



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