The State Government plans to introduce a cost-cutting exercise next month that will leave people with disabilities without an option as to who repairs their wheelchairs.

Under the new arrangements all repairs to wheelchairs provided by Disability SA will now be done by Domiciliary Care’s equipment service or designated service providers. The Minister admitted in Budget Estimates hearings today that it’s a cost-cutting decision.

What it could do is leave many people confined to wheelchairs with the real prospect of being stranded late at night! A number of my constituents are alarmed that support under the new service is not available after 5pm on Sundays and late on weekday nights.

They fear they’ll be forced to use operators whom they don’t trust. They can’t understand why they can’t continue to use the private repair services they have come to trust and depend on.