Wheelchair help needed - please

luminated

At the start of the year I remember posting asking advice on wheelchairs and bought one for £195 and felt it was good value. At that time it was to use now and again and not for long periods/distances. However times have moved on and I wish I had known then what I know now!!!!!!!!!

As you pay more do wheelchairs:-

1) Get more comfortable?

2) Have less vibration jarring you particularly through the front wheels?

3) Have height adjustable handles as I have two friends who find they have to bend to push me and even the 200 yards to the local coffee shops sets their bad backs off.

Lastly if I was assessed and granted an NHS wheelchair do they get the bottom of the range, or are they more luxurious?

Chorlie

You need to be measured for a chair & get it adjusted to fit you, that way it should be more comfortable.

You also need a good cushion if using it for long period to stop pressure sores etc; a good gel cushion can cost hundreds, you can also buy back cushions or full gal back rests.

You need a full assessment from either wheelchair services or a good independent seller who'll bring several out to try.

You need to think how / where you'll use it, does it need to fit in a car or car boot, will you self propel or be pushed etc

A cheap chair is like a cheap suit, ok for short periods but you don't want to be in it all day, it doesn't fit or look right and its not comfortable.

You can get different types and size of front castors so it depends what the problems you're having with them (is it wheel wobble like a supermarket trolley?)

Not sure about height adjustable handles, but a good independent seller would know, I know you can have higher push handles but don't know if they adjust.

As for the NHS, you normally get two options after the assessment either take the chair they offer (which is normally a basic NHS one, unless you're assessed as needed a light weight one) or they will offer you a voucher to uses or put towards the chair you want for a registered independent seller, if the chair is over the voucher amount you pay the difference.

Also the NHS can supply gel / memory form cushions if they assess you need one.

Lastly when buying a chair watch you don't get conned into buying something more expensive then you really need, a chair can cost £150 or £5000; so asked yourself what extra are you paying for and is it of benefit.

Parva

This is a very hard one to answer as each of us who use a wheelchair probably has different requirements of it. I personally have an 'indoor' wheelchair which I purchased on Ebay for the princely sum of £95 delivered and I have an NHS supplied wheelchair which remains in the boot of the car for when I go out.

When I had my operation (whole right leg amputation) the NHS supplied wheelchair was delivered to my house whilst I was still in hospital. This one was very heavy indeed but served its purpose for getting around in hospital and later around the house when I returned home after the surgery. Its weight for lifting into the boot of the car was however noticeable even for my very able 26 year old son so I asked for a lighter version, got invited to the wheelchair department at the hospital and took my choice of two models, both very light in comparison to the 'standard' one I was initially supplied with. Some 6 weeks later I exchanged my original NHS supplied wheelchair for the lighter one and it was fab!

I still only had the one wheelchair at this point and it was a bit of a pain having to transfer from using inside the house to taking it out in the car so that I could mobilise elsewhere so I figured that it would be a good idea to buy a 'cheapie' from Ebay and keep the NHS one in the car boot permanently meaning that I need only go out to the car on crutches and not have to either rely on my son to load the wheelchair into the boot or ignore every health and safety procedure and load the wheelchair into the boot on my own (and yes, I did do it a few times).

The wheelchair I got from Ebay is nowhere near as good as the NHS chair in the boot of the car because it doesn't have swing-up armrests and it's pretty heavy. However, for home use it's actually better because the front wheels are so much closer to the back wheels meaning that I can get my knees right up to the front of a cupboard without getting 'trapped' by the front wheels hitting the cupboard first. Now I wouldn't want to take this chair outside onto an incline as due to it not having anti-tippers on the back and the close proximity of the front and back wheels the centre of gravity is very high and it would tip over easily! The NHS version is much better in this respect as it is much lighter for getting up an incline and if you're over-enthusiastic it does have anti-tippers on the back of it.

The NHS chair I have found available online for about £400. Now this is nowhere near the £1,500+ titanium super-light models that the same company produces so there's obviously a limit here.

Finally, one thing to bear in mind is the radius of the front wheels (all of the above is assuming self-propel). Very small front wheels are great for manoeuvring in very tight spaces but absolutely terrible at dealing with minor potholes / cobbles / misaligned flagstones. Both my wheelchairs have fairly large front wheels (about 7") and these do me fine. The smaller front wheels may well be better for indoors as I do occasionally get a little stuck on a cupboard plinth and such like but I can certainly manage regardless. The very small (2-3") front wheels on some chairs I've seen on my physio visits to hospital will be absolute murder outdoors!

If needs be I can link to both my NHS chair and the Ebay one.

EDIT: Beaten to it by the previous poster. The cushion you choose to sit on is every bit as important as the chair itself. I was supplied with a cushion that has air filled 'T-bag' like things which I can add / remove to shape the cushion to fit my non a-symmetrical backside, without this I could manage no longer than 30 minutes in the chair or even driving without being in severe pain. I just want another for the car now to save me having to carry mine out but at £400 it's not cheap.

pauliboo

Hi Parva, I would be interested in seeing the chairs you have, could you link to them please?

luminated

Chorlie & Parva

You are both stars and I can't begin to tell you both how grateful I am for your taking so much time to offer help. I now feel I know a heck of a lot more than I did so thank goodness for MSE forums.

I have pressed the thank you button loads of times but sadly only one registers :T

I have problems with my OT (did create separate thread a while ago) in that I bought my own wheelchair and that negates me from further help with electric wheelchair or electric powerpack for mywheelchair. I am still hoping she will be able to sort out something as the policy is ridiculous.

luminated

pauliboo wrote: »

Hi Parva, I would be interested in seeing the chairs you have, could you link to them please?

Yes me too links would be excellent :j

luminated

Oh forgot to answer this bit the problem with front wheels (7" solid rubber) is I dread hitting any slight raised kerb, fallen small twigs/branches, stones as it vibrates through me so much.

Just talking to my wife who is my main 'pusher' and she tells me that getting the wheelchair in and out of the car is quite difficult for her due to her suffering arthritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica. But I thought of my wheelchair as being light - but is it? Link to it following but mine is the previous model but looks the same version. She tells me she has often thought of asking a strong looking passerby to give her a hand but she is too shy.

http://www.romamedical.co.uk/wheelchair_spec.php?model_no=1418Q

Chorlie

http://www.gerald-simonds.co.uk/catalog/index.php?CG_ID=1&CS_ID=2


These are lightweight folding wheelchairs, if you get one with quick release wheels it makes it lighter and smaller to transport in a car.

There are also ridge frame chairs, these are even lighter but can be bulkier to transport. I have a ridge frame chair but I place my frame on the passage seat so I need it as light as possible to lift over me. My chair weighs about half of yours (with the wheels on).

But these chairs tend to have lower back rests (to keep them light) you can order them with high backs for comfort or adjustable.

I've been in a chair all my life and I have made some mistake in the past, the best advice is to try and look at as many different type (styles) of chairs as possible decide what you like / need and more importantly what you don't like and once you've decided try a few more to be sure.

However the first port of call should always be wheelchair services, try and get your GP to refer you.

luminated

Chorlie once again I say a big thank you.

When you get thinking about it there is so much more to consider. I was talking more to my wife who used to take off the big wheels when she put it in the boot. Now she puts it in whole as she has Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and finds it hard to release the wheels but if there is one with another form of unlocking that would be a good idea.

I feel I need to talk to my GP again who is very good.

jeanmd

Hi Luminated, When my OH went for his nhs wheelchair he was measured for it. He then had a choice of the basic chair or putting money towards a more expensive one, they had lots of chairs there to try. Sorry, I don't remember about height adjustable handles. xx

luminated

Another aspect has been on my mind in connection with self propelling or not? When we first bought the showroom floor was level and I was able to go up and down fairly easily. I should of gone further but I wasn't in the right frame of mind totally resenting to having to look ay wheelchairs. Who me I thought -- never. I was deluded.

Since buying floors haven't been level and even where they are in Garden Centres, shops & DIY stores I find it very hard and uncomfortable to put my arms backwards to grab the self propel rims. Are all wheelchairs designed the same or are some ergonomically better.

Further advice would be good.