Across the United Kingdom, a growing number of disabled children and their families are facing agonizing waits for the wheelchairs and mobility equipment they need to live independent, fulfilling lives. The crisis has reached such a pitch that Whizz Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for specialist wheelchair provision, has been forced to take the unprecedented step of closing its waitlist for new patients—something it has never done before in its 35-year history. The root cause? Escalating costs, shrinking National Health Service (NHS) budgets, and a surge in demand as more children are turned away by the NHS for the life-changing equipment they need.
According to Whizz Kidz, as of late September 2025, more than a thousand disabled children are waiting for wheelchairs and mobility equipment that could transform their daily lives. The charity, which supports wheelchair users up to the age of 25, has seen demand for its services rise by 12.5% year on year, a trend closely tied to an increase in NHS rejections for specialist wheelchairs. The average cost of a specialist wheelchair now sits at around £4,800, and inflation continues to push these prices higher, putting even more pressure on already squeezed budgets.
Behind these statistics are real children whose lives are being put on hold. Take Wren, an 11-year-old with cerebral palsy. Wren’s condition affects her speech, all four of her limbs, and her posture, meaning she needs help with everyday activities. It took more than a year for Wren to receive her NHS manual self-propelled wheelchair—a wait well beyond the NHS’s official target of 18 weeks. While her family was grateful when the chair finally arrived, it is heavy and cumbersome, allowing Wren to propel herself only a few meters before needing help. As 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.”
Wren’s story is not unique. The family turned to Whizz Kidz for a powered wheelchair for school after being told she wasn’t eligible for one through the NHS. While the charity provided a chair, Wren is set to outgrow it soon, and with the charity’s backlog, her family is left wondering when—or even if—a replacement will be available. “Using her powered wheelchair at school is one way for her to assert her independence,” Anna said. “She has great fun whizzing around.” But the uncertainty about future support casts a long shadow over Wren’s growing years.
Another young person, Ivy, is a teenager living with single ventricle circulation—a life-limiting heart condition that means only one side of her heart works. Ivy can walk only very short distances and relies on a manual wheelchair from the NHS. However, the exhaustion caused by her condition means she cannot propel herself and must depend on friends and family to push her. “I have to rely on my mum to drive me to school—and it’s only a 15-minute walk,” Ivy told the BBC. “I get left out when I’m in the wheelchair because obviously I can’t take myself around.” Ivy’s mother Emma applied to Whizz Kidz for an electrical attachment to help her daughter gain more independence, but they have been waiting since January 2024. “It would hugely enhance our lives and give Ivy that independence... we would have to make some real big sacrifices to be able to afford the electrical attachment on our own,” Emma explained.
Charlie Drinkwater, an eight-year-old with spina bifida and growth hormone deficiency, has faced similar challenges. Despite being the size of a two-year-old, Charlie is eight and needs a specialist chair—one that could cost up to £4,500. Yet, according to Whizz Kidz, the NHS does not provide specialist chairs for children under five, offering only a buggy instead. Charlie has now grown out of her first charity-provided chair and, after yet another NHS rejection, waits for a new one. “I’m excited for my new chair because it’s going to be pink. But it makes me sad when it takes a long time,” Charlie told The Independent.
Figures from January to March 2025, seen by The Independent, reveal that 1,676 children waited more than three months after being referred to NHS wheelchair services, with 875 assessed as having “high” or “specialist needs.” A further 1,700 patients were rejected for “not requiring equipment.” The result: more families are turning to Whizz Kidz, whose staff say they have never before had to close applications. Sarah Pugh, the charity’s chief executive, described the situation as a “national crisis.” She told The Independent, “We hear about a lot of kids trapped at home because they can’t get out … kids aren’t getting wheelchairs, they’re not able to get on with their childhood, they are losing very critical and very important days of their childhood.”
Whizz Kidz has now launched the Childhood Can’t Wait appeal, aiming to raise £750,000 to reopen the waitlist and cut waiting times. The charity’s recent survey paints a stark picture: 60% of children reported living in discomfort or pain due to not having a wheelchair or the right wheelchair. “Behind every statistic is a child missing school trips, missing playtime with friends, or living in pain,” Pugh told the BBC. “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.”
Other charities echo these concerns. Laurence Guinness, chief executive of Variety, which supports disabled children across the UK, said, “Chronic underfunding and systemic delays within NHS wheelchair services are leaving children in already impoverished families in desperate situations.” He added, “When our statutory services fail to provide, the burden shifts to charities and, most distressingly, to the families themselves, who are often already navigating a challenging system to get the support they need. This is a systemic failure, and it is our children who are paying the price.”
For its part, NHS England says it offers personal wheelchair budgets to help individuals choose equipment that meets their needs and is working with local healthcare providers to deliver better services and improve access. A spokesperson told The Independent, “We know how crucial timely access to a wheelchair is for patients, which is why the NHS offers personal wheelchair budgets for people with a long-term condition to pick a wheelchair that meets their individual needs.” In Scotland, the government says eligibility criteria for children’s wheelchairs has remained unchanged since 2014, and in Northern Ireland, the Department for Health reported delivering 87% of all wheelchair categories within 13 weeks by the end of August 2025.
Still, for the families waiting and the children missing out on the simple joys of childhood—school trips, playtime, or just a spin around the park—these reassurances can ring hollow. The need for urgent action is clear. For Wren, Ivy, Charlie, and thousands like them, every lost day is a day of independence and opportunity they can never get back.
