How we’re Integrating Care in Swindon: Wheelchair Services

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is making a real commitment to integrating our care across Swindon and the local area.

We have provided community healthcare to patients across Swindon since 2016, and this is key to enhancing the experience of our patients and the overall health of the local population.

We’re proud of our work to integrate health, social and voluntary care across Swindon and beyond. This work sees us provide healthcare in hospital, in patients’ homes and in health centres in the Swindon community.

We also work in partnership with other health and social care organisations, such as GPs, pharmacies and care homes.

Alongside treating and managing acute illnesses, we also play a key role in keeping people well, helping people to manage long-term conditions, and supporting people to live independently in their own homes. 

To celebrate this work, in the coming months we’ll be sharing a series of stories of some of the healthcare professionals you might meet providing care in the Swindon community.

First are the Swindon Wheelchair Service. This team play an important role in helping thousands of people across Swindon every month. They work with local partner organisations, such as the Red Cross, to deliver bespoke designed wheelchairs to patients.

The team currently supply wheelchairs to 2860 people in Swindon, repairing and maintaining more than 100 wheelchairs every month. This includes delivering and fitting 30 new wheelchairs every four weeks.

Lynn Broughton, Clinical Lead for the Swindon Wheelchair Service, says:

“We’ll visit schools, and work with all sorts of local organisations and charities like the Red Cross. The best part of the job is when you hand over that piece of equipment, and the client is sitting in it, they’re happy and you’ve really changed their ability to participate and join in. It’s really rewarding.”

Find out more by watching the video below: