The WestMARC Wheelchair and Seating Service provides wheelchairs (manual and powered) and children’s buggies, with postural supports if required, to people requiring wheeled mobility that are living in the West of Scotland. Services provided include:
Clinical assessments
Provision of equipment (wheelchairs, buggies, seating systems) tailored to patient’s needs
Equipment repairs
Our team consists of administrative staff, technical staff, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, clinical scientists (bioengineers), nursing/medical staff and clinical psychology staff.
Making A Referral
New Service Users
Important Information
For anyone who has not used our service before, a referral form needs to be submitted by a healthcare professional or social worker registered with one of the following bodies:
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Health and Care Professions Council
General Medical Council
Scottish Social Work Council.
Wheelchair eligibility criteria
Please refer to the following information before making a referral.
Anyone who has used the wheelchair service before can self-refer if their conditions and/or requirements change by contacting the service directly for reassessment or advice.
Alternatively a healthcare professional can refer on their behalf by submitting a reporting form.
When the service receives a new referral it will be assessed by a clinician. The clinician will review the information and decide whether you require an assessment, or whether a chair can be issued from the information that has been provided. If an assessment is required, you will be added to the waiting list for a clinic appointment.
Clinic Locations
Clinics are conducted within the centre and at many satellite locations across the West of Scotland. Your appointment letter will specify the location of your appointment.
West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital 1345 Govan Road Glasgow G51 4TF
There is also a depot where the service’s equipment store, repair facility and technicians are located.
Drop in repairs available Monday to Friday 9.00am to 3.45pm.
The Motherwell hub is a smaller unit and we are unable to hold all parts, so please call 0300 790 0129 in advance to confirm parts are in stock to complete the repair.
WestMARC Yoker Depot
Unit 20 Halley Street New Albion Industrial Estate Yoker Glasgow G13 4DJ
WestMARC Motherwell
Unit 33 Fern Street Motherwell ML1 2AJ
Satellite clinic locations
Douglas Grant Rehabilitation Centre
Ayrshire Central Hospital Kilwinning Road Irvine KA12 8SS
Community Rehabilitation Unit 1st Floor – North Entrance Mountainhall Treatment Centre Bankend Road Dumfries DG1 4AP
Repairs
If your chair is in need of repair you should contact the service immediately. You might find Standard Wheelchair Parts helpful for explaining what part of the chair requires a repair.
Equipment is repaired free of charge by the service. Our mobile engineer repair service will usually visit and repair equipment at service users home or other suitable setting.
If a complex repair is needed than it may be necessary to bring the equipment into our workshop to carry out the work.
WestMARC Yoker depot and the WestMARC Motherwell Hub are open for drop in repairs Monday to Friday 9.00am to 3.45pm. Please see ‘Clinic Locations’ above for address details. Note, Motherwell hub is a smaller unit and we are unable to hold all parts, please call 0300 790 0129 in advance to confirm parts are in stock to complete the repair.
Equipment is loaned by the service and it is the service user’s responsibility to keep equipment in good condition.
Any accident or adverse incident that occurs with equipment provided from the service should be reported so that the service can record and followed up if necessary. This helps us to improve safety for all service users.
Please see video resources created by SMART Centre, Edinburgh on wheelchair demonstration/operation. Adult Manual Wheelchair video demonstrates transporting manual wheelchair into a vehicle.
The Motability Scheme helps you get mobile by exchanging your higher rate mobility allowance to lease a new affordable car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair.
Power Chair Charging
Please see following advice on charging your electric powered wheelchair:
Please see Self Management – NHSGGC toolkit developed by NRU which educates and provides references for conditions, physical activity, getting out and about, psychological wellbeing and other helpful resources.
The Glasgow Clinical Gait Analysis Laboratory assesses children and adults with complex gait problems. Gait analysis equipment is used to measure how the person walks and using this information a multidisciplinary team compiles a set of treatment recommendations, which can include medical, physiotherapy and orthotic interventions.
Our Team
Dr Bruce Carse, Clinical Scientist
Mrs Laura Wiggins, Principal Physiotherapist
Miss Janet McCaul, Orthopaedic Consultant (Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow)
Mr Mohamed Osman, Locum Orthopaedic Consultant (Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow)
What is Gait analysis?
Gait analysis is a way of analysing how a person walks and helps clinicians to understand their difficulties. This information is then used to develop a treatment plan to help them walk better.
In the laboratory, we place some skin markers on the legs and trunk using sticky tape and then use 3D motion capture technology to give more information than is possible by simply observing a person walking.
We also use Video Vector Analysis which assists in identifying the forces acting on the legs and help identify how to improve the gait, possibly using an orthosis.
There is also detailed clinical examination which looks at:
The movement at joints
Muscle power
Bone alignment
The ability to control movement
Muscle tone
Balance
Walking is a complex activity involving biomechanical and neurological factors. Biomechanics relates to the movement of the joints and segments of the legs and the forces acting upon them. The neurological aspects involve the control of the muscles by the brain and the nervous system to produce forces. In particular the reactivity of muscles to stretch is of importance. We call this approach to gait analysis ‘Neurobiomechanics’.
Who do we see?
Children and adults with a physical disability which causes complex walking problems. Issues cannot be identified with simple procedures such as observational analysis or routine clinical examination.
Conditions we see include Cerebral Palsy, traumatic brain injuries and other neurological conditions, Myelomeningocele, Muscular Dystrophy, lower limb and foot deformity.
In addition the patient should be:
At least 4 years old
Able to cope with a session which can take up to two hours, although the pace of assessment can be tailored to the child
Able to walk at least 15 metres, independently or using assistive devices or orthoses if appropriate. The use of walking aids is acceptable (e.g. sticks, crutches, rear and forward-facing walkers), however we are not able to assess patients using aids that support the trunk during walking
Gait analysis for adults and children with amputation is arranged by Prosthetics Service staff within WestMARC, primarily as part of the Scottish Specialist Prosthetics Service.
Please refer to the ‘Patient Information Sheet’ links below for more detailed information.
Who can refer?
Orthopaedic Consultants, Paediatricians, Neurologists, Physiotherapists, Prosthetists and Orthotists. Patients (or their parents/carers) should be aware of the referral and it is helpful where appropriate for the referrer to inform the patient’s wider multi-disciplinary team. It is anicipated that the referrer will provide feedback to the patients (or their parents/carers) after the gait report is finalised unless agreed otherwise.
Referral Information
This must include the reason for referral, for example: Considering an intervention and would like information to assist decision making (e.g. surgery, SDR, botulinum toxin) Deterioration in gait is suspected and objective assessment would assist in identifying management strategies Information to support appropriate orthotic alignment or management
Referrals should also include a clear clinical question, or information you would like the report to include. This will assist in tailoring the assessment and report to answer the clinical question.
Everyday, people use handsets and remotes to use the telephone, operate TVs and accessing sockets for turning on lights etc. For a few people using these handsets is extremely difficult due to complex physical disabilities. An environmental control is a technical system which can potentially overcome this problem.
What can they control?
Environmental control systems can be set up to operate a huge range of devices, including:
Entertainment – TV, video, HiFi, DVD, Cable TV, Satellite TV, Teletext, Radio
How do Environmental Controls work?
Environmental controls are portable and use wireless signals to send commands to remote appliances.
Depending on the environmental control and the appliance that requires to be controlled, the environment control will send out either radio or infrared signals to operate the appliance remotely.
People can operate this equipment with various physical movements, such as; hand control, chin switch, head switch or voice activation.
Why do I need one?
People usually consider an environmental control to solve the following problems:
Cannot easily operate appliances and equipment around the home
Cannot unlock the door to let carers in
Cannot use ordinary remote control handsets
Spend some time on their own and may need to make an emergency call to a carer
Want to remain independent in their own home
Carer needs to be able to pop out without fear of person getting into trouble and being unable to call for help
Funding – Who will pay for it?
If you meet the NHS eligibility criteria, then you may be prescribed an environmental control system. The NHS will only install and maintain equipment that has been approved.
Some people choose to buy or rent environmental control systems privately. Others may be able to obtain funds from various government sources and have the equipment supplied to them on loan.
Other departments may be applied to for funding in some circumstances. These include Social Services (for Home Adaptation Grants or Disabled Facilities Grants), Local Education Authorities (for Equipment for Education Grants) and Employment Services (for ‘Access to Work’ equipment grants).
What products and services will the NHS provide?
The NHS may contract out the supply and servicing of equipment to an environmental control manufacturer. If so, they will agree with the manufacturer what equipment should be installed and what type of maintenance contract will be required.
Typically the NHS pay for an annual service.
The NHS operate to strict guidelines for provision, so you may find that the NHS will not be able to pay for everything you ask for.
What if I want more equipment that the Health Services will provide?
You may be able to buy equipment direct from the manufacturers, or from one of their approved suppliers. If the environmental control needs to be reconfigured to add in the command functions for the new equipment, then this would need to be agreed with the NHS provider.
Eligibility
A specialist assessment is required to determine a person’s suitability and eligibility. These criteria are available on request. Please contact your GP or Health Professional and ask to be referred:
WestMARC, West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre, serves a population of approximately 2.6 million people and has in excess of 42,000 active wheelchair and prosthetics patients.
Contact Telephone: 0300 790 0129 (Monday to Friday 8.45am to 4.15pm)
The service provides wheelchairs (manual and powered) and children’s buggies, with postural supports if required, to people requiring wheeled mobility that are living in the West of Scotland. Services provided include:
Clinical assessments
Provision of equipment (wheelchairs, buggies, seating systems) tailored to patient’s needs
Equipment repairs
Our team consists of administrative staff, technical staff, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, clinical scientists (bioengineers), nursing/medical staff and clinical psychology staff.
The Prosthetics Service measures for, manufactures and fits artificial limbs for adults and children with amputation or limb absence. Clinics are conducted at Westmarc and at our satellite clinic at Ayr Hospital to provide new limbs and carry out maintenance and repairs for existing limb users.
We have an onsite workshop where our technical team manufacture and repair new and existing artificial limbs. This service works with Strathclyde University to provide placements for students. There are also close links to Finding Your Feet, a charity who support families affected by amputation or limb absence.
The Prosthetics service provides upper and lower limb care to approximately 52% of Scotland’s population. Our clinics deliver life long prosthetic care for individuals with amputation and/or congenital absence of a limb. This may include patients with multiple level limb absence and/or complex clinical requirements.
There is an on-site workshop where our technical team manufacture and repairs new and existing limbs. We provide medical clinics and a multidisciplinary clinic where new patients and referrals, approximately 300 per year, are assessed.
The inpatients for this service are mainly based at The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital whilst outpatients, approximately 3,500, come mainly from Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Argyll, forth valley, Lanarkshire, Dumfries & Galloway and some other Scottish Health Boards.
Patient referrals are received by the service from:
Primary patient referrals from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital or other hospitals.
Self referrals from existing patients and or carers.
Referrals from GPs, Consultants and other Health Care Professionals
WestMARC serves as one of the locations for the Specialist Prosthetics Service. It is responsible for the assessment, prescription and provision of state-of-the-art (SOTA) prostheses. A single multidisciplinary team based over two sites, WestMARC and the SMART centre at Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh, deliver this national service for eligible limb users.
The Prosthetic Physiotherapy Service
We work very closely with the prosthetics service to provide specialist outpatient physiotherapy care for patients who have an amputation or limb loss. This includes exercise programmes, teaching patients how to put on and off their prosthetic limb, learning how to walk and do functional tasks such as the stairs.
If you are referring a patient for a physiotherapy review only, please complete the Prosthetic service referral and write on the top *For Physio Only* and this highlights to our administration staff that the patient requires physiotherapy review prior to primary clinic.
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact the department for further advice.
Physiotherapy Information
The aim of our service is to provide a high quality, specialist outpatient physiotherapy service for new and established adult and paediatric patients who have had an amputation or limb loss.
The Team
Joanne Hebenton – Team Lead Physiotherapist
Nikki Porteous – Specialist physiotherapist
Damien McGovern – Specialist Physiotherapist
Grace Ferguson – Specialist Physiotherapist
Lorraine Douglas – Support worker
Rotational Physiotherapist
What We Do
We aim to make patients as independent as possible whilst taking a goal centred approach. Gym sessions are held Monday to Friday which facilitates patients to use their prosthetic limb and improve their walking or transfers. Patients can also be provided with a home exercise programme for their walking, strength and balance.
We also have close links with the 3rd sector and work closely with Finding your Feet which are a Scottish based charity supporting people after amputation or limb loss finding your feet and Scottish Disability Sport Scotland among others. The department is involved nationally, in promoting and developing expertise in prosthetic physiotherapy practice, education, research and audit.
Our custom built gym and courtyard facility is based within WestMARC. We share these facilities and work closely with the wider multidisciplinary team such as the Occupational Therapist, Prosthetists, Nurses, Clinical Psychologist and Bioengineers.
Other services we provide are:
Information support groups
Group exercise classes
Running class
Pre amputation consultations
Gait laboratory assessments
Multidisciplinary paediatric clinics
Assessment for suitability for a prosthetic limb
Osseointegration service
Training and assessment for those referred to the Scottish Specialist Prosthetic Service which provides advanced prosthetic components via a national panel
Instructional videos on transfers for new amputees
WestMARC Physiotherapy staff along with team at Finding You Feet some instructional videos on transfers for new amputees.
Bed to Upright
Wheelchair to bed with board
Bed to wheelchair with board
Wheelchair to bed with pillow
Bed to wheelchair with pillow
The Environmental Control Service
Provides services to patients within NHSGGC. This service enables people with severe disabilities to independently control their home environment including door-entry, intercom, telephony, a-v equipment, heating and lighting.
This service supports patients with complex gait problems by integrating the assessment and planning of medical, therapy and orthotic interventions making use of a range of simple and complex gait analysis equipment.
Telephone: 0300 790 0129 (Monday to Friday 8.45 am to 4:15 pm) WestMARC Yoker depot and the WestMARC Motherwell Hub are open for drop in repairs Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 3.45 pm.
Prosthetics
Telephone: 0300 790 0129 (Monday to Friday 8.45 am to 4:15 pm)
Physiotherapy
Team Lead Physiotherapist: Joanne Hebenton Telephone number: 0300 790 0129 E-mail: westmarc.physiotherapy@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Service hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am-4.30pm
Find Us
WestMARC at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Glasgow
WestMARC Wheelchair and Prosthetics Service Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 1345 Govan Road, Govan, G51 4TF
Drop in repairs available Monday to Friday 9am – 3:45pm. The Motherwell hub is a smaller unit and we are unable to hold all parts, please call 0300 790 0129 in advance to confirm parts are in stock to complete the repair.
Care Opinion is about honest and meaningful conversations between patients and health services. We believe that your story can help make WestMARC services better. If you as a patient yourself or as a carer experienced care from WestMARC we would value your feedback good or bad, we appreciate your honesty. Please follow the link Care Opinion or call 0800 122 3135.
If you’ve experienced WestMARC Services recently, either as a patient yourself or as a carer or friend of someone else, please tell us how it was. What was good? What could have been better?
Your story will be handled confidentially by the non-profit service Care Opinion. Your story may appear (without your name) on their website. Care Opinion will ask WestMARC to respond to the feedback you share, but does not reveal your identity.
This service is independent of WestMARC and the NHS. For more information about Care Opinion and how your story is handled, visit www.careopinion.org.uk.
Complaints
If you wish to raise your concerns about a service which WestMARC has provided, please contact us through the Call Centre on 0300 790 0129 so that a record can be made of the issues.
WestMARC aims to provide a high standard of service and therefore welcome the opportunity to discuss any areas of shortfall to resolve any issues before unnecessary distress is caused resulting in a formal complaint.
For more information about the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde complaints procedure, please visit our Complaints page.
