NSW — CHILDREN suffering from disabilities are waiting so long for vital equipment they are developing other severe problems and experiencing unnecessary pain. An internal report by the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) and obtained by The Daily Telegraph found some children were waiting so long for basic equipment such as wheelchairs they were unable to go to school. The report also found children were developing deformities, forcing them to undergo corrective surgery. Children assigned unsuitable equipment through the program of appliances for disabled people (PADP) were also experiencing additional pain, while others were being forced to wait up to two years for wheelchairs. The report said the State Government was aware of the crisis, having sat on the findings of a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report commissioned in 2005. "Our organisational members tell us they no longer request equipment on behalf of client through PADP in some areas. Instead, they approach the charitable sector to request funding," the report reads. Industry experts estimated the PADP had a budget shortfall of $37.5 million. While Premier Morris Iemma announced a one-off $2 million payment to clear the paediatric component, service providers estimated there were still thousands of children waiting. Single mother Kylie Pochyly from northern NSW has been waiting for 18 months for a wheelchair for her six-year-old son Thorn, who suffered meningococcal septicaemia as a baby. "He just wants to get around on his own . . (but) I've either got to put him in a pram or leave him behind," she said. Opposition spokesman Andrew Constance said NSW Health was failing children and the State Government should move the PADP program to the Department of Disabilities. "There is no greater human injustice from the State Government than failure to deliver a wheelchair for a child or adult with a disability," he said. Daily Telegraph ###