A little girl who can’t walk has been waiting seven months for a wheelchair from Macclesfield Hospital.
Ava Reid, eight, was diagnosed with a degenerative hip condition after being taken to A&E because she was struggling to walk.
But mum Heidi was shocked to hear she would have to carry her home because the hospital doesn’t provide wheelchairs.
Heidi, from Bollington, said: "I think that individuals going into the hospital with broken legs should know this.
"Don’t for one minute think you are going to be given a wheelchair.
"It’s going to involve waiting a long time."
She added: "I assumed because Ava couldn’t walk they were going to give us one straight away."
Ava, who goes to St John’s Primary School, Bollington, was measured for her chair in May.
Mum-of-two Heidi suspects budget cuts are to blame.
She said: "We were told we would go on a waiting list, but I didn’t for one minute think it would take this long.
"This is appalling service, we rent one for £35 a month.
"For a children’s chair it costs about £250-300.
"If somebody had said we will be waiting mine months we would have gone out and bought one."
Ava’s rented chair isn’t suitable for long-term use as she can’t push herself around in it and it’s uncomfortable.
Heidi added: "She will get better, she’s quite clearly improving already.
"This wheelchair will eventually arrive and she won’t need it."
A spokeswoman from Macclesfield District General Hospital confirmed the hospital doesn’t provide wheelchairs once a patient is discharged.
They refer people to their GP or Wheelchair Centre in Macclesfield for assessment.
She said: "Based on the referral from the hospital the patients’ needs for a wheelchair are assessed.
"They are then put into priority order, with an approx 12-40 week wait for patients which is based on their priority.
"Even if the assessment is high priority the centre has a eight to 12-week wait to order and receive the wheelchair from its suppliers."
