Problem with a shower wheel chair
From Jim Hollom, Remap North East Essex
Our client has a shower wheel chair. He transfers to the shower chair outside the bathroom. He then wheels himself into the bathroom.
He then decides he needs to use the toilet but has forgotten to put on the brake. Whoops!!! As he gets out the wheel chair moves and then he falls.
The OT requested some device to stop him getting out of the wheel chair with the brake off but all my proposed solutions have been rejected.
Has anyone come across this problem before? If so what solution was adopted?”
Please post your solutions in the comments area below.
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What happens when he transfers from wheelchair to shower chair outside the bathroom he must put the brakes on then so why not in the bathroom. Having said that why does he not have a shower chair that wheels over the toilet negating the need for another transfer? Whenever I have provided shower chairs in the past I have always made sure they also wheeled over the toilet to reduce the number of transfers the client has to do.
How about a brake released by his weight on the seat? Then you don’t have to hold a brake-release lever and push the wheels at the same time.
I agree with Peter. An alternative might be a buzzer which goes off as his weight comes off the seat.
Could you adapt the brakes so they are spring loaded to normally on and he has to hold them off a bit like airport luggage trolleys? As soon as he tries to get up he will release the lever and apply the brakes automatically?