Former student paramedic campaigning for changes in wheelchair accessibility rules
Lucy Gatward was studying to be a paramedic in Surrey before complications with long covid left her relying on a wheelchair
A former Surrey Paramedic student is telling us about her campaign to make powered wheelchairs more accessible
Lucy Gatward was studying to be a paramedic before complications with long covid left her relying on a wheelchair
Despite being too unwell to use a manual wheelchair, she can't qualify for a powered one as Lucy can walk short distances
Because of this Lucy is forced to fundraise and rely on the generosity of friends and the public to get the wheelchair, Lucy explains to us that this isn't simply about luxury
"For a lot of people like me, we don't have energy reserves to be able to use a manual chair. Not having that power chair isn't a case of, I can't go and do all the luxury things. It's, can't go to work, I can't go to the shops"
Lucy adds it's an incredibly common thing to hear about people being stuck in the gap between not being well enough to use a manual wheelchair, but unable to qualify for a powered one
"It seems to be really frequent. I do a lot of social media raising awareness and the amount of people that have commented and said, this is exactly what I'm going through now. I don't know where to go. And it's heart breaking."
Lucy's fundraiser has hit just over 50% of the target of £3,200, however along the fundraising journey she was targeted by scammers
" I had someone impersonating Lifestyle & Mobility reach out to me through social media channels saying we absolutely want to support you. Please, can you fill out this assessment form? It looked very genuine. And they offered me this amazing price for the chair
I really did think it was them. They sent me an invoice with the, you know, and it had all the business registration numbers and things on it.
And it's only when they sent me the payment details, when I said I had enough for a deposit it rang to me actually, this isn't a business account or a charity account."
Lucy told us what key changes she wants to see made about wheelchair accessibility
"Eligibility to be based on clinical need, functional need, rather than based purely on budget and a tick box criteria.
There are so many people who have this clinical need who aren't getting the equipment that they so desperately need to function."