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Introduction
In 2006 the independent review of wheelchair and seating services, 'Moving Forward' was published. As a result of the Scottish Government's response to this, a Wheelchair and Seating Services Project Board was established to take forward the development of this action plan.
This plan lays out the direction of travel for the Wheelchair and Seating Services ( WSS) in Scotland over the next 3 years. It forms a programme of service modernisation, introducing service and practice change in keeping with patient centred approaches. These are core to the Scottish Government's commitment to developing Health services with patients and service users as partners.
Changes to mobility and postural support bring challenges to people living with a variety of conditions and these can be life long and life limiting. These impairments affect some of our most vulnerable citizens and can impact on their ability to lead active and full lives with dignity and autonomy. Assistive technology and wheelchair mobility can enable wider participation in work, education and society as a whole.
NHS wheelchair and seating services in Scotland offer a vital service in providing technological assistance for enabling users and their carers to live full and healthy lives.
The changing demography of the Scottish population offers challenges to all health, education and social care services as well as those that provide enabling technology. It is essential that these form an integral part of care pathways to ensure the support they provide offers smooth and seamless provision for users and carers.
Services that provide equipment that enable mobility and independent living are crucial to shifting the balance of care. They support people with long term conditions to remain at home and enjoy a quality of life that is meaningful to them. These services need to feature in interagency working and planning approaches and should be visible in health and social care strategies, and obvious to the user.
The 5 wheelchair and seating centres in Scotland are located in Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Each service is located in one NHS Board and provides wheelchairs and seating services to other NHS Boards to serve the people in that area. The level of service they provided at each of these centres is agreed between the NHS Board and each WSS centre.
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