Page 62 - BHTA 100 years

Strong nances, wheelchair voucher scheme and discount wars....
Strong nances were reported at the AGM in 1996, with 288 members of the Association.
The Association issued a discussion paper on the new Wheelchair Voucher Scheme. The concept had been approved by Ministers in February of this year. One of the aims of the paper was to encourage the NHS to use private sector wheelchair supply services where appropriate and not to attempt to duplicate them. A news item stated: “The new schemes offer a range of opportunities for collaboration between Service Managers and Wheelchair Dealers to the advantage of users.” The guidelines on vouchers were due to be published in the September of 1996.
A couple of years after it had rst surfaced, Wheelchair Vouchers became a reality and were implemented in April 1996. There was a plan to spend £50m over the next four years. BAWD Section members, led by Section Chairman Donald Blatchford of Mobility Showcase attended the launch at the Copthorne Tara hotel in London. The voucher scheme was to be phased in over the following four years. Representatives from BSTA had played a big part in the discussions about the scheme and would have ongoing opportunities to give feedback as the details were worked out.
Trade discounts were another topic of some controversy this year. It isn’t often that you hear people complaining when they are given more, but this was the case here.
BHTA 100 years