'Bureaucracy could leave us housebound'

Lifting toddlers Jessica, aged one and Mia, who is two, into their car seats has become a logistical nightmare for their parents.

Both girls have been diagnosed with hip dysplasia, or clicky hips. They have both had operations to correct the condition, and must remain in restrictive body casts for months. The casts almost double their weight, and the position their legs need to be fixed in makes manoeuvring difficult.

The toddlers can be taken out in their buggies. But if their mothers want to take them out in the car, things become more awkward. While the girls' mothers have been able to find car seats that can accommodate the casts, they cannot access the wide disabled or mother and baby parking spaces they need to ease their children in and out of the cars because they don't have the right permits.

Helen Grindrod and Kelli-Ann Rushton, from Basingstoke, claim bureaucracy is leaving them virtually housebound. They would need to qualify for the Blue Badge scheme to be able to park in the special bays. But children are only able to get them if their disability is set to last more than three years. There is also an age limit, so no child under two is eligible for a badge.

So neither Helen nor Kelli-Ann can use the disabled bays.

Ms Grindrod said: "When we came home from hospital we tried to get Mia into the car and could not. I rang our council to ask for one of the Blue Badges and was told we were not eligible."

Kelli-Ann added: "I don't want to be housebound for a year. There are not enough wider spaces available. I am frightened of having the lack of space when Jessica is in her cast, especially because hitting her feet on the car could cause the hip to dislocate. The casts are extremely heavy and are very difficult to handle."

The mothers have started a petition to get the law changed, and already have 2,000 signatures. There is also support from politicians. Local MP Maria Miller has tabled an Early Day Motion, which has support from 65 MPs across all political parties. Helen said the Department of Transport has said it is currently consulting on changes to the Blue Badge scheme.

But she added: "We want them to stop consulting and start doing something to help those families like ourselves who are in great need of a Blue Badge, regardless of the age of the child, or the type of disability. Since starting our campaign we have been shocked and saddened by the amounts of families with differing special needs who cannot get the help they need. We have had families with serious heart defects, cerebral palsy, children needing constant oxygen and children with feeding tubes who cannot get the help they need simply because of their age or type of disability," said Helen.

Fred Watson, a paediatric orthopaedic physiotherapist at Booth Hall Hospital, Manchester, said that whenever any of their children had an operation like Jessica and Mia they warned parents of the difficulties they would face. We tell them that getting in and out of a car space in a small bay will be difficult. These are children who are looking at between three to six months in plaster," he said.

Sue Banton, founder of the charity Steps, which campaigns and supports children with lower limb conditions, said: "It is about disability, easy access and convenience for parents with children who are temporarily severely disabled. In most normal car parking spaces you are not able to open the door fully. This can mean that parents have to leave their child in the car whilst shopping because it is simply impossible to safely manoeuvre them out of a half-open car door. The problem is the same when taking them to the hospital for treatment. Some parents and children end up being housebound for months and this simply isn't acceptable."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We will consult on extending the Blue Badge scheme to under two year olds shortly, as part of a package of other changes to the scheme. We have worked to make this happen as soon as possible, but changes involving amending legislation do take time. "