I own a Permobil Chairman which I purchased in 2000. I recently received a letter from the UK supplier of Permobil informing me that the PG8 joystick will no longer be available and is now obsolete. I have already had my joystick replaced three times in the 10 years so it doesn't fill me with confidence that this one is going to be any better in the long run.

I'm quite sure you can imagine my worry at this decision Permobil have come to, by all accounts there are 25 people in the UK, not counting the rest of the world who are still using a Permobil wheelchair utilizing this type of joystick, so the law of averages states that one of us is going to have problems with our joystick at some stage. I can't speak for everyone who owns one of these wheelchairs but I am extremely angry and actually quite worried about what the hell I am going to do if my joystick decides it's going to malfunction like it has done three times before. I only bought my wheelchair 10 years ago, it seems ridiculous that Permobil have just washed their hands of it completely. I rely entirely on my power chair, without it I am bedbound, it's as simple as that. I'm not suggesting that Permobil should continue to manufacture my particular type of wheelchair for the next 50 years, but I do think they should keep a stock of spares for those of us who are still using the older wheelchairs.

I would like to think that if looked after properly, my wheelchair still has quite a few years left in it.  As it stands, if my joystick malfunctions, I've got to bin the whole wheelchair. Car manufacturers don't automatically stop supplying spares for the older makes of car, why should Permobil be any different?

If you are as worried as I am then we need to unite and try and persuade Permobil that their decision is very unfair to all of the older customers who chose one of their wheelchairs over any other on the market.

I can tell you one thing for sure, never again will I ever purchase a Permobil wheelchair.