I’ve put together our latest updates, and insights to keep you informed and engaged. From details on upcoming events, including the dates for our next Service User Engagement Forum, to helpful tips from our engineering team. 

Commissioner Update from Laura Wickhams

Over the past year, improvements have been made to referral and triage processes, waiting list management and the use of virtual assessments, helping the service make more effective use of resources while maintaining a focus on timely access to assessments and equipment...

We would love to share with you the story of a chap called Ken Powell. Some of you may have heard of Ken, but for those who haven’t, his story is one of the most inspirational you will ever hear.

Ken Powell is a member of North Foreland GC. Encouraged by his Dad, Ken started to play when he was 12 around Ramsgate, before attaining his first full handicap at 14. Ken played in teams for Kent Boys and Kent Youth, and aged 16, he travelled up to play in the British Boys’ Championship at Royal Liverpool in 1974.

In June 2025, the Kent Cricket Foundation welcomed its first-ever Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Project Officer, Gabriella Rolls. Working within the community team, Gabby’s mission is to ensure that cricket, both as a spectator sport and a physical activity, is accessible to everyone in Kent, regardless of their background or circumstances.

I am Lauren Gills, a Band 4 Occupational Therapy Assistant with over 12 years of experience working within the Kent and Medway Wheelchair Service.

My career began as a Nursery Nurse in a special needs school and nursery setting, where I supported children who used wheelchairs. Although transitioning into wheelchair services initially presented new challenges, it quickly became a role I was passionate about and one in which I have continued to develop extensive knowledge and expertise.

Congratulations to our Employee of the Quarter - Lee Bridges, Field Service Engineer

Leigh has recently transitioned from the workshop into the role of Field Service Engineer, and he has embraced this new position with a positive attitude and exceptional professionalism. He has quickly adapted to the demands of the role and is already making a significant impact.

“My name is Julie and I joined the Wheelchair Service in Gillingham in November 2025.

I qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2002 in London. I began the first 4 years of my career as an OT in Northern Ireland where I was born and brought up and worked in The Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast..."

Charging your wheelchair and other things to take into account: 

1. Chargers are designed to be used overnight, even if you are using the chair for 15 mins during the day, the charger is designed to charge the chair to capacity.
2. If you are not using your chair for an extended period (a week plus), put it on charge overnight once every 4-5 days.
3. Please avoid picking at the arm pads.
4. Please avoid cigarette burns on the fabric and cushions.
5. Please refrain from pressure washing powered wheelchairs.
6. The chair should not be stored outside.

Do you need an engineer? 

• If there is excessive movement in anything, even non safety pieces of the chair, please call for an engineer to resolve it as tightening a bolt is far easier and cheaper than replacing a complete arm side, and it needs to be fixed whatever happens, suffering through it is not a good idea.
• If you call for a repair, and something else happens between the initial call and the engineer arriving, please call again and have this added to the existing job as we may be able to fix both things in one visit.
• Photos are very helpful for identifying parts, but make sure to include an overall photo of the chair as sometimes the close ups do not help, and having a tape measure can also help.
• The engineers are under time constraints, we are very aware that the next job could either be 5 mins, or 2 hours, please be out of the chair (if possible) so that the engineer can get the job started quickly.
• Please maintain a level of cleanliness of the chair, our engineers cannot work on chairs if there is risk of contamination.
• We will endeavour to provide you either an AM or PM appointment, but please bear in mind we cannot give you guarantees as we are unable to predict how previous jobs will go.

The Wheelchair Alliance has called on Government to remove ‘ridiculous’ guidance that could see children needing driving licences for wheelchairs. Here, Nick Goldup, COO and chair of the Alliance explains more.

The Wheelchair Alliance is an organisation which represents the voices of wheelchair users and we have urged the Government to act now on an update to current guidance that would require disabled children to have driving licences and insurance for their powered wheelchairs.

My name is Archie and  I have been a wheelchair user for almost 3 years. Sport has always been a big part of my life so when I started using a wheelchair it was important for me to find ways to still be part of the sports I loved and to find sports where I'd be supported and understood when my health changed...