A MINEHEAD guest house owner has accused hospital bosses of putting policy before people's welfare after they refused to loan a disabled pensioner a wheelchair.

Bryan Leaker, who is also a district councillor, said he had offered to pay £100 as a security deposit for a wheelchair from Minehead Hospital but NHS chiefs in Yeovil vetoed the proposal.

He had hoped to borrow a wheelchair over the bank holiday weekend for a 65-year-old multiple sclerosis sufferer whose own larger-than-standard wheelchair was too wide to fit through the doors of The Parks guest house.

But NHS bosses said they had a limited supply of wheelchairs, cited health and safety regulations and claimed Mr Leaker should have been aware that not all wheelchairs were the same size before taking his guest's booking.

Mr Leaker told the Free Press: "Being a bank holiday, St John Ambulance was not open, all the wheelchairs at Butlins were booked out, so I phoned Minehead Hospital to see if they could help.

"After all, I had supported them, helping to raise £18,000 towards an x-ray unit, had promoted many of their events and, as chairman of the Minehead Coastal Town Initiative and a district councillor, I felt they would be very happy to help."

He said staff at Minehead Hospital were extremely polite and courteous but were unable to help as wheelchairs had been stolen in the past.

Mr Leaker persisted and a second opinion was sought from NHS Somerset bosses based in Yeovil.

But despite his offer to pay a security deposit, they refused to bend the rules.

Mr Leaker said: "Thanks to their lack of support and their inability to have any common sense, a 65-year-old lady with severe MS struggled for 20 minutes to walk 20 feet in extreme pain on her birthday.

"They should consider how they can assist patients in an emergency, not hide behind pathetic policies. Where is their compassion?"

In the end, staff at Minehead's Irnham Lodge Surgery in Townsend Road came to his rescue and loaned his guest a standard-sized wheelchair for her holiday.

Judith Brown, NHS Somerset's community health chief operating director, confirmed it was not hospital policy to lend wheelchairs and said the few available in Minehead were reserved solely for the use of patients while they were being treated on the premises.

"The hospital has only a limited supply of wheelchairs and these are in regular use, particularly within the minor injury unit, where patients might frequently need a chair to bring them into the hospital or onto a ward," she said.

"[Mr Leaker's] request was also made on a busy bank holiday weekend when there is a high probability that any wheelchairs would be needed."

She said Mr Leaker should have approached the British Red Cross and its medical loans department for help, and cited health and safety reasons for the non-loan policy.

"This particular item of equipment normally requires a proper assessment for the patient using it – for example, the weight, height and the nature of the physical disability of the user," she said.

"Failing to do this risks considerable discomfort for the person using the chair or worse still, the risk of injury from falling or being ejected out of the chair if pushed by an experienced person."

Mrs Brown also suggested Mr Leaker might want to find out more information about disabled guests before taking their bookings in the future:

"As the proprietor of a commercial business, which presumably meets current disability access regulations, Mr Leaker would be wise to inquire of any future disabled guest booking a holiday what sort of wheelchair they use, as these are normally customised pieces of equipment and may even be electrically powered, incorporating special adaptations which might well present problems passing through a conventional doorway.

"I would of course be happy to hear from Mr Leaker should he would like to discuss his concerns in more detail."