ALEXANDRA FALLS
WHEN Edward ‘Ted’ McInerney was first assessed for an electronic wheelchair in October 2009, he asked if it would be ready by his birthday in November.
Now the 83-year-old Wallan resident wonders if he’ll have it by this year’s birthday, or even the next.
Despite the McInerneys paying a $1045 deposit on the wheelchair in January 2010, they are yet to see any sign of the machine that could ease Ted’s suffering.
Ted’s physical condition is at the point where he cannot move independently at all, and he relies heavily on his wife Eileen, who is his primary carer.
“I’ve deteriorated over time, I’ve gradually gone from walking sticks, to a frame, to a wheelchair to a permanent wheelchair,” said Ted.
“If I had the (electric) wheelchair I’d be able to move around more without having to rely on my wife.”
The McInerneys have been consulting the Victorian Aids and Equipment Grant but cannot find out where Ted is on the sponsorship list or when the funding will come in to purchase his wheelchair.
They were told Ted would have the wheelchair within six months of his assessment; it has now been almost 12 months.
State Member of Parliament Donna Petrovitch has taken up the McInerney’s case, asking in Parliament if it was Minister for Health Daniel Andrews’s policy to institutionalise people instead of allowing access to proper facilities in their homes.
“The action I seek of the minister is for a speedy resolution to this disgraceful situation and an apology to the family concerned for their terrible treatment,” she said.
The Review contacted the Minister for Health but was informed Ted’s wheelchair was a matter for the community services minister Lisa Neville.
A spokesperson from the Victorian Department of Human Services stated that ‘urgent inquires’ have been made into the progress of Mr McInerney’s wheelchair.
The Department also said that while the Victorian Aids and Equipment program cannot guarantee a date for Ted’s wheelchair, a temporary replacement will be provided as soon as possible.
In the meantime the McInerneys continue to wait.






