Thousands of disabled people in England are waiting months, and in some cases years, for a wheelchair from the NHS, according to a report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

The ombudsman describes a systemic failure in the way wheelchair services are organised, and is demanding wholesale reform of the system, including changes to how the NHS buys wheelchairs from private companies.

How long are patients waiting?

Figures from NHS England show that 634,104 people were registered with NHS wheelchair services in England at the end of March 2026. In 2025-26, only 82.0% of completed episodes of care were finished within 18 weeks, well short of the NHS standard that 92% should be.

That left 32,586 people waiting longer than 18 weeks, including 6,413 children. People with the most complex needs waited longest: only 68.5% of high-need and specialist cases were completed within 18 weeks, meaning nearly one in three waited longer.

Performance also varied sharply by area. Only eight of England's 42 integrated care boards met the 18-week standard in 2025-26. In Lincolnshire, 70% of children waited longer than 18 weeks, the worst performance of any area.

One family's three-year wait

Six-year-old Elliot Cruz Gardiyanoglu, from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, has cerebral palsy and cannot walk, sit up or support his own head without help. His family waited more than three years for a specialist wheelchair.

They were told that children younger than three could not be referred, so two years passed before a referral was made. Once it was in place, more than a year passed before the chair arrived, despite the NHS target of 18 weeks.

Paula Sussex, chief executive of the ombudsman, said: "We see extremely long waits and we see cases where inappropriate devices are being provided."

Complaints have risen sharply

The ombudsman decided to intervene after complaints about wheelchair services rose from eight in 2020 to 110 in 2025. During 2025-26 alone, the NHS received about 91,000 new referrals and 108,000 re-referrals.

The report warns that some patients have been left injured or trapped at home, with chairs that do not fit properly or are the wrong type. Sussex said there needed to be much greater oversight by the Department of Health and Social Care.

For the full findings, see the Times report and the Review Mobility league table of waiting times across England.