Wheelchair recycling is a waste of money

Dear Editor

Wheelchair recycling policy in Scotland needs scrapping.

Thousands of pounds are being wasted in Scotland as electric wheelchairs, costing up to £3,500, are being dumped and scrapped by the NHS because nobody is available to fix them. It has been claimed on just one day in April, 35 wheelchairs were taken to the scrapyard despite being manufactured in 2015 and 2016.

The British Polio Fellowship believes this is a total waste of money and resources, especially as it has been stated that many of the wheelchair faults are minor, such as needing a new arm rest pad or a new battery.

For the 120,000 people with Post Polio Syndrome (PPS) and some 13,000,000 living with a disability and for all the charities and carers supporting them, this waste of perfectly good wheelchairs is extremely frustrating.

The British Polio Fellowship is no stranger to wheelchair manufacturing with our creation of a compact, lightweight electric wheelchair, to give those with PPS and other neurological conditions the best chance of a comfortable, independent life.

We would therefore happily take these wheelchairs off their hands, to be repaired and used for what they were intended, rather than throwing them wastefully on the scrapheap.

David Mitchell Chairman British Polio Fellowship