In the United Kingdom, families of young people with disabilities are facing mounting challenges as gaps in care and mobility support become increasingly evident. Recent reports from BBC News, Whizz Kidz, and other sources paint a picture of strained services, long waiting lists, and a system buckling under budget pressures—leaving thousands of children and young adults without the vital equipment and support they need to thrive.
For Suzy Ward, a former specialist nurse from Londonderry, the struggle is deeply personal. Her 19-year-old son Eoin, who has Down's syndrome, autism, and ADHD, requires round-the-clock care due to his complex needs and sometimes challenging behaviors. Since finishing school at Knockavoe in Strabane in June 2025, Eoin’s support has dwindled, and his mother says he has regressed. "It's very tough, it's definitely tough. I feel exhausted. It's really difficult," Suzy told BBC News NI. Eoin sleeps only two hours a night, leaving Suzy drained and isolated as she provides care day and night without respite.
The Western Health and Social Care Trust offered Eoin a day placement, but Suzy deemed it unsuitable—primarily designed for elderly, vulnerable people, the setting posed choking risks and lacked age-appropriate activities. Having worked as a specialist nurse for decades, Suzy carried out her own risk assessment and found the environment unsafe, both for Eoin and the other clients. "I am doing everything I can as his parent to protect his wellbeing, and I cannot agree to a placement that I believe would put him or others at risk, or where he would regress," she explained.
At school, Eoin benefitted from one-to-one—sometimes two-to-one—support, but that ended abruptly when he turned 19. Now, Suzy says, "They turn 19 and leave school and they don't have the support anymore and they are just expected to go out into these places without support, which Eoin couldn't cope with." The sudden withdrawal of structured, age-appropriate support has left Eoin and others like him at risk of isolation and decline.
Suzy Ward is now calling for post-19 legislation in Northern Ireland, akin to laws in England where education plans for young people with special needs continue until age 25. "I think the system is broken and I think the system needs to change. They need to put more funding and more resources into the system for young people with learning disabilities. I really do feel we need post-19 legislation like they have in other parts of the UK."
The Western Trust, while unable to comment on individual cases, acknowledged the significant challenges faced by young people with learning disabilities and their families as they transition into adult services. According to the Trust, care plans are tailored to each individual within the constraints of current services and funding, and they continue to engage with concerned families.
This crisis is not limited to care services alone. Across the UK, more than 1,000 disabled children are currently waiting for wheelchairs and mobility equipment that could transform their lives, according to the charity Whizz Kidz. For the first time in its 35-year history, the charity has been forced to close its specialist wheelchair waitlist, citing unprecedented demand, escalating costs, and squeezed NHS budgets.
Wren, an 11-year-old with cerebral palsy, is among those affected. Her condition impacts her speech, all four limbs, and posture, requiring help with everyday activities. Wren waited over a year to receive her NHS manual wheelchair—well beyond the NHS’s official target of 18 weeks—and is now nearly outgrowing it. The chair is heavy and cumbersome, limiting her independence. When the NHS deemed her ineligible for a powered wheelchair, Wren’s family turned to Whizz Kidz, which provided a powered chair for school. But with the charity’s waitlist now closed, her family fears she will soon have no suitable replacement. "I don't want Wren's world to get smaller as she gets bigger," her mother Anna told BBC News. "She doesn't get another childhood and we want to keep the options open for her for whatever she wants to do."
The situation has been described as a "national crisis" by Whizz Kidz CEO Sarah Pugh. "Behind every statistic is a child missing school trips, missing playtime with friends, or living in pain. This cannot be acceptable in the UK in 2025. We urgently need the public's support to reopen the list—because childhood can't wait." The charity’s Childhood Can't Wait appeal aims to raise £750,000 to reopen the waitlist and reduce delays.
Teenagers like Ivy are also caught in the backlog. Ivy, who has a life-limiting heart condition called single ventricle circulation, can only walk short distances and relies on a manual wheelchair from the NHS. However, her condition leaves her too exhausted to self-propel, and she depends on friends and family to push her. Ivy has been waiting since January 2024 for an electrical attachment from Whizz Kidz that would give her more independence. Her mother Emma says, "It gets quite heavy pushing a wheelchair around for 12 hours at a time—your shoulders and your back ache." The family worries they would have to make significant sacrifices to afford the attachment themselves.
According to Whizz Kidz, the average specialist wheelchair now costs £4,800, with inflation continuing to drive up prices. NHS services, meanwhile, are facing stricter eligibility criteria and budget constraints. NHS data shows that 1,676 children waited more than three months for wheelchair services, and 1,700 were rejected for not "requiring equipment," shifting the burden onto charities and families. Many NHS-provided wheelchairs are reportedly heavy, unsuitable for outdoor use, or lack essential postural support, further increasing reliance on charities like Whizz Kidz.
Government responses vary across the UK. NHS England says it is working with local providers to improve services and offers personal wheelchair budgets to better meet individual needs. NHS Scotland maintains that eligibility criteria for children’s wheelchairs have remained unchanged since 2014, and the government is committed to protecting vital services. In Northern Ireland, the Department for Health reported delivering 87% of all wheelchair categories within 13 weeks by the end of August 2025.
Charity leaders, however, warn that these efforts are not enough. The 12.5% year-on-year increase in demand for specialist wheelchairs, driven by rising NHS rejections and budget pressures, has left over 1,000 children waiting for vital equipment. Many experience discomfort, pain, and restricted independence while the system struggles to keep up. Whizz Kidz and other advocates are appealing for urgent funding and legislative change to address what they call a systemic failure in the provision of care and mobility support for children and young adults with disabilities.
For families like the Wards, Anna and Wren, and Emma and Ivy, the stakes are heartbreakingly clear: without timely, appropriate support and equipment, the opportunities for independence, learning, and a fulfilling childhood are slipping away. The calls for reform, funding, and compassion are growing louder, as the nation grapples with how to better serve some of its most vulnerable citizens.
