WHEELCHAIR waiting lists exposed by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph have been branded "disgraceful" by borough councillors in Hyndburn.

They have joined this newspaper in condemning delays which are forcing elderly people in East Lancashire to wait an average of nine months for a wheelchair.

The policy and resources committee agreed last night that chief executive Mike Chambers should write to Health Secretary Frank Dobson and the Community Health Council, calling for urgent action to reduce the waiting time for NHS wheelchair provision.

Councillors acted following a report in Monday's Lancashire Evening Telegraph about the great concern wheelchair delays are causing at two nursing homes in Hyndburn and at establishments across East Lancashire.

Council leader George Slynn said: "We support the article and very much support the editorial.

"A nine month delay in receiving a wheelchair is completely unacceptable.

"People with a disability that makes walking difficult need the added mobility that wheelchairs provide quickly.

"The current waiting period in East Lancashire is far too long, directly affecting people's quality of life."

Coun Bill Goldsmith said: "Imagine in this weather being unable to get out to a sitting-out area to get a bit of relief from the heat because of the lack of wheelchairs. It's absolutely disgraceful." Coun Sheelagh Delaney said the CHC had already taken up the issue quite strongly as access to wheelchairs had been a problem over a number of years, and she would pass on the council's concerns at the next meeting.

While waiting times for NHS wheelchairs tend to go up during the summer as demand increases, the current backlog is at an all time high in East Lancashire, rising from 24 weeks in June 1997 to its current 36 weeks.

Councillors were told that the rise in waiting time is due to increased demand. This is happening across the country with a national year on year growth of between 8 and 10 per cent.

The increased demand is due to the growth in the elderly population, medical and surgical advances, greater awareness among the public and the impact of Care in the Community.

The committee was told that the East Lancashire health authority has made reducing the waiting list a priority, injecting £244,000 into cutting the delay down to two weeks by the year 2000.

Staffing and clinic availability at the Disablement Services Centre, Preston, which provides the wheelchairs, means the waiting period can not be cleared any sooner.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.