Travel Ramp
A family had rented a house close to their son’s care home to allow them to celebrate Christmas together. Unfortunately the hall had a 24″ (~60cm) restriction on access and the Rea Azalea tilt-in-space wheelchair that he was confined to was 25″ (~63cm) wide. It was impractical to try and lift the occupied chair over the obstruction and there were a number of other constraints: Since the house was rented no permanent ramp could be fitted, the landlord did not want the walls or stairs to be damaged or modified and the ramp had to be transportable in a car because they intended to rent the same house again for other celebrations.
Half-ramp in construction
Underside of the two half-ramps
Removable legs in storage position
The solution
The client was to be attended by two carers throughout his short stays at the rented house. They agreed that a steeper than usual ramp was acceptable since they would both be there to move him over the obstruction. A more typical ramp that was to be negotiated alone would have taken up the entire hallway and would not have been transportable. The new ramp was constructed in two parts. Clips were provided to lock them together while in use. Removable, screwed legs were provided to achieve the correct height. These could be stored in the horizontal position for ease of transportation and storage. The ease of installation was important because there were only two hours between the family gaining access to the house and the client arriving from his care home, during which time they also had to create Christmas, complete with tree, decorations and presents.
The benefit
This little ramp enabled the client’s family to celebrate Christmas with their son for the first time away from the care home
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