New Brunswickers face delays getting, fixing wheelchairs

New Brunswickers with disabilities have been having a particularly hard time obtaining and maintaining their wheelchairs throughout the province, according to Ability New Brunswick.

Haley Flaro, the executive director of Ability New Brunswick, said people with disabilities face massive wait times getting equipment.

"People with mobility disabilities face struggles getting equipment in general, whether it's through provincial funding or insurance,"Flaro said.

"There's really long processes in many regions just to be assessed for the right equipment, then it takes time to trial it, then it takes time to find funding, then it takes time to order it."

Growing pains

The Canadian Red Cross took over as the main supplier in 2015 and with its two-year contract soon up for renewal, some people are becoming more vocal about its shortcomings.

Flaro said there have been "growing pains" since the Red Cross took over as the province's supplier from four separate companies.

"This was a huge contract, a huge change in New Brunswick,"she said."It removed the choice of supplier from our clients, which continues to be a concern."

Charities and private companies who supply wheelchairs say they are overwhelmed with requests from people who have grown tired of waiting to get one through the province.

A Riverview woman came forward last week to talk about her experience with trying to get her wheelchair replaced for weeks because of faulty brakes.

• Faulty wheelchair leaves Riverview woman injured, shaken

Bernadette Brule was facing a lengthy delay in getting a wheelchair from the provincial government, so she turned to Easter Seals, which provides wheelchairs to people who can't otherwise afford them.

Previous concerns

Flaro's concerns with the Red Cross contract echoes those made in 2014 by Ellen Snyder, the executive director of the New Brunswick Association of Occupational Therapists, when the provincial government negotiated the contract with the Red Cross.

"We're very concerned about wait times for equipment. We're concerned about health and safety for clients and we're concerned about their lack of choice and autonomy as well,"Snyder said in 2014.

Flaro said the Department of Social Development has been working with the Red Cross in order to address some "major challenges."

No one at the Department of Social Development or at the Red Crosswas available for comment.

Consequences of long wait periods

Delays in getting wheelchairs can have a long-term impact on people, according to the Ability New Brunswick official.

Flaro said some people end up hospitalized or put in a nursing home because they can't get access to equipment, such as wheelchairs in a timely fashion.

"We know, and there's tons of research out there, that if someone's stuck in a hospital bed, because of lack of equipment, they're likely losing muscle strength, they're likely losing a lot of progress in their rehabilitation,"she said.

In addition to wait times for equipment, she said patients also faced long wait periods to be assigned an occupational therapist.

Flaro said the problem does not rest solely with the provincial government.

"There really needs to be more of a concerted effort with private [insurers], provincial government, occupational therapists and lots of stakeholders to try to improve the process overall,"she said.