Powered wheelchair

[BigSister]

Hiya all. Just a quick question. Can anyone recommend a good wheelchair company that sells powered wheelchairs in the south of England? Any top tips for buying a powerchair much appreciated also.

[susieq]

Hello Bigsister

There are lots of mobility shops where you could get some good advice on powered chairs and which would the best for your purposes (self-propelled or attendant 'driven'). Alternatively you could contact your local Occupational Therapists for advice.

If you have a branch of Shopmobility (usually found in one of the car parks of your nearest good sized shopping centres) they can also give you advice.

The only advice I would give is to be aware of how heavy they are - it's the battery pack that weighs so much even if the chair itself is advertised as being lightweight; also checkout how long the battery charge lasts - will it be enough to, say, get to the shops, do the shopping and get home again.

[Eun]

Don't you get powered wheelchairs supplied by the Health Service down south then? Our son's tilt in space powered wheelchair was supplied funded by Westmarc (the health service) and the Joseph Patrick Memorial Trust (part of Muscular Dystrophy UK). His first powered chair when he was around 11 was funded by the charity Whizzkids.

Eun

[bowlingbun]

The weight and space is a major issue. I needed a mobility scooter after a car accident, but couldn't find one that was light enough for me to lift in and out of my Discovery on my own, because I've had major abdominal surgery, and am banned from lifting heavy weights, and I'm widowed so no big strong husband to help. I'm heavier than average, and didn't want a tiny one. In the end I bought one used just for steam shows, which my son would then put in a trailer and tow behind his Land Rover, whilst I towed the caravan with my Discovery. So it didn't get used very much, but it was so, so useful going round the shows, visiting all my steam friends etc.
In order of priority you need to work out
How you are going to move it? Look at the space in your car, and how you will get it in and out. (Ramps are one option).
Who is going to put it in and out of your car.
Will you actually need a new car?!

[Bean76]

My Dad has just gone from a small mobility scooter to a power chair as independent transfers are no longer possible and he can stay in the power chair in the house all day if need be. We've certainly had some teething problems with it, mainly the steering as Dad's manual dexterity isn't great & the gear stick was very sensitive. Add this to it being rear wheel drive & our skirting boards have taken a bit of a hit! A company that the suppliers put us onto came & adjusted the sensitivity so it's now much better. They're not cheap by any means & we're self funding so bought it ourselves. There are several online retailers; we got a Travelux Venture from springchicken.com and used them because they offer a 'white glove' delivery service which means someone comes & sets it all up & makes all the adjustments for you. They also let you use it for 2 weeks before committing to keep it as long as it hasn't been used outside too much. Unfortunately, they mucked up our order & not only did I have to chase delivery but when it arrived it was sent as 'freight' which meant that a driver dumped a 70kg box on my driveway & that was the extent of the service. It was only when he saw I was babysitting my 18 month old nephew that he took pity on me & helped me carry it into the hallway (in the meantime my nephew had managed to put the safety chain on the front door so we were locked out & he was locked in! Miraculously the driver managed to make him understand that he needed to take the chain off & we got back in - it really was one of those mornings!). I forgave the company though as it was a series of unfortunate errors along the way that lead to the mistake & they couldn't have been more apologetic.
Another company I found which has several branches down south is London Mobility. They have a range of power chairs that seem quite different to those I've seen elsewhere & full online brochures for each chair. They also do home visits or trials at their assessment centres & if I could do 1 thing differently it would be to test different ones before buying. This might obvious but they tend to be much bigger than indoor scooters so measure doorways & turning angles carefully.

[shiela_1702]

Hello everyone, I would like to ask your advice so I can suggest a good power wheelchair for my friend.
Her budget is below $3k.
Since most of you here are already experienced, which among the power wheelchairs here would you consider the best buy?


Thanks in advance everyone.

[susieq]

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