Wheelchair Service – Halton and St Helens

General introduction

What we provide

The wheelchair service offers:

therapist clinical assessments for wheelchair posture and mobility
re‑assessments when a person’s condition changes
provision of manual and powered wheelchairs (see criteria for powered wheelchair provision)
specialist modifications and adaptations from our in‑house technician team

General repairs and maintenance are carried out by an external company, Ross Care.

Initial assessment

At your initial assessment, the clinician will check the details we hold on our system before beginning the appointment.

Your assessment may include:

a brief medical history
discussion about the reason for referral
consideration of the clinical need
environmental concerns and factors that may affect wheelchair use
recommendations from the clinician and any appropriate next steps
seated body measurements
discussion about the personal wheelchair budget (PWB)

Most of our appointments take place in clinic. This gives us access to a wider range of equipment that may be needed during your assessment.

If you already have a wheelchair, you are expected to attend clinic as you would for any hospital appointment.

If you need help getting to your appointment, please read about transport options in our useful information below.

After your assessment, if you are eligible to receive a wheelchair from the NHS, you will be given a personal wheelchair budget (PWB). This is a virtual amount of money allocated to meet your assessed clinical needs.

Find out how you can use your personal wheelchair budget.

How to access this service

The Halton and St Helens wheelchair service is available to residents who are registered with a GP in Halton or St Helens. We also provide support for GP practices in Frodsham and Helsby.

Referrals

If you are an existing service user and already have a wheelchair issued by us, you can contact the service by phone or email. We will advise whether a further referral from a registered medical professional is required.

If you are not currently known to our service, a referral form must be completed by a registered healthcare professional. Referral forms can be accessed via the link in the professional area of this webpage using a unique access code.

Healthcare professionals can also request a referral form directly from our team using our service contact details.

When a completed referral form is received, it is triaged by a wheelchair clinician.

A referral does not guarantee an assessment.

The triaging clinician will decide whether to request further information, add the referral to the waiting list for an appointment, or decline the referral. The referrer will be informed of the outcome.

All accepted referrals are prioritised according to clinical need. While we aim to see clients promptly, the service has a significant waiting list, which means you may need to wait several months for an assessment.

Criteria

We do provide:

standard transit chairs for long‑term use (6 months or longer)
self‑propel wheelchairs, dependent on need and medical condition
indoor‑use powered wheelchairs following a satisfactory assessment by the wheelchair service team
specialist seating cushions following assessment by a clinician and dependent on requirements

We don’t provide:

wheelchairs in place of a suitable static seat
short‑term loan transit or self‑propel wheelchairs
powered packs or powered wheels retro‑fitted to manual wheelchairs
powered outdoor‑only wheelchairs
powered wheelchairs above class 2
seat risers in powered wheelchairs
mobility scooters
equipment specifically for work, education or sporting requirements
sunshades or canopies for buggies unless there is a specific medical need
trays unless required for postural support as identified during assessment
transportation clamps or head restraints for transport purposes
transit wheelchairs for portering in nursing and residential care homes in St Helens

For long-term wheelchair hire in Halton and St Helens, users can contact Ableworld or the British Red Cross.

Wheelchair repairs and maintenance

As an approved NHS repairer, Ross Care provide a full and comprehensive free repair service if your NHS wheelchair develops a fault. They also carry out pre‑planned maintenance (PPM) checks on all our wheelchairs at regular intervals.

Ross Care operate from their base in Wallasey, which enables them to offer excellent local coverage and fast response times for NHS wheelchair users.

They have more than 70 skilled field service engineers on the road each day, each carrying a large stock of wheelchair parts and spares to achieve a high rate of first‑visit fixes.

You can contact Ross Care on 0151 653 6000 or by email at repairs@rosscare.co.uk .

Useful information

Wheelchair advice sheets

Transport services

Community transport services provide safe, accessible and affordable transport options for local residents. They help people reach work, training and social activities they may otherwise struggle to access.

Most schemes offer a door‑to‑door service, including dial‑a‑ride, shopping trips, medical appointments, day trips, outings and group hire.

Dial‑a‑ride services usually operate fully accessible minibuses, suitable for most modern wheelchairs.

Fares are generally based on the length of the journey and agreed with the operator in advance. Local dial‑a‑ride or shopping trips typically cost a similar amount to standard bus fares.

Each scheme may set its own conditions for who can use the service, depending on local priorities.