NHS sees over 215 thousand referrals to wheelchair service in 2024
New analysis of NHS figures has revealed the number of referrals to the wheelchair access service from January to December 2024.
Mobility specialists EMS Lifts studied the NHS’s national wheelchair data collection figures and found that in 2024, there were 215,315 referrals made for patients to access the NHS’s wheelchair services.
The figures contained both new referrals, and patients who had been re-referred to the service, separated into adult and children. There were 180,764 referrals for adults and 34,551 referrals for children in total.
The figures were broken down by regions, with the North East and Yorkshire area having the most referrals overall with 46,999 in total. This was followed by the Midlands with 38,723 and the North West with 31,447 referrals across the year.
| Total New and Returning Users | |
| Area | Total |
| North East and Yorkshire | 46,999 |
| Midlands | 38,723 |
| North West | 31,447 |
| London | 30,397 |
| South East | 26,633 |
| East of England | 22,233 |
| South West | 18,883 |
The North East and Yorkshire also had the most referrals for adults in total, with 40,279 of it’s total in this category.
| Total Adults | |
| Area | Total Referrals |
| North East and Yorkshire | 40,279 |
| Midlands | 31,465 |
| North West | 26,237 |
| London | 26,021 |
| South East | 22,123 |
| East of England | 18,827 |
| South West | 15,812 |
The most referrals for children were found in the Midlands with a total of 7,258 referrals.
| Total Children | |
| Area | Total Referrals |
| Midlands | 7,258 |
| North East and Yorkshire | 6,720 |
| North West | 5,210 |
| South East | 4,510 |
| London | 4,376 |
| East of England | 3,406 |
| South West | 3,071 |
Alex Muir of EMS Lifts gave his thoughts on the figures:
“When you take into consideration that a referral to the wheelchair service is made when a condition may leave someone unable to walk, or suffer from difficulty walking for a minimum of 6 months, the numbers speak to the number of patients with severe mobility issues within England.
“The data also showed that out of the 167 care boards, 148 of them have now moved to offering patients personal wheelchair budgets. This is an important step for the service, as it allows people to have more control and agency. This can be incredibly valuable for them when dealing with something as personal as their own mobility.”