A patient suffering from Multiple Sclerosis had to wait 18 months for a wheelchair, a report has found.

In other cases patients in Gwynedd were having to wait up to 40 weeks for posture assessments and electric wheelchairs, while one man had to wait 13 months just to have the footplate on his wheelchair replaced.

The findings are the result of a Gwynedd Council working group which was set up in June 2017 after Cllr Peter Read, who lost the ability to walk after breaking his back in a hand-glider accident in 1995, voiced concerns disabled residents living in Gwynedd and the wider north Wales area were being offered a poorer service than those in other parts of the country.

In Wales, the provision of prosthetics and wheelchairs is currently supplied by the Posture and Mobility Service (PAMS) which is commissioned via the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC), and provided by a collaboration between three health boards.

The provision for Gwynedd and other residents in the north is usually organised through the Wrexham centre.

Cllr Menna Baines told a Care Scrutiny Committee meeting in Caernarfon: “There are some statistics that jump out, such as one individual with MS having to wait 18 months for a wheelchair, which is difficult to comprehend to be honest.”

Cllr Angela Russell added: “From reading this report I feel we have turned several stones and have probably taken this as far as we can, as a council.

“We have found there are discrepancies in the level of service and would like to thank everyone for their work, and hope that both the Community Health Council and health board take on board the findings and act.”

See this week’s north editions for the full story, in shops and online on Thursday