standard wheelchair

[anonandlikeit]

ds2 has cp & asd, we have just decided to swap his major buggy for a wheelchair as he is getting a bit older & bigger.

Ths ot has ordered the wheelcahir, doesn't need any special adaptations or anything so it should be here ina bout a week.

I would liek to prepare ds2 & show him what his new wheels will look like.

Does anyone know of any links to the standard issue kids NHS wheelchair?

Thanks
Anon

IS IT A NICE ONE OR A really bog standard one?

I haven't got a clue, the OT just measured him & said she would fill in the forms & wheelcahir services would deliver i within 2 weeks.
She said she would request a blue one, beyond that I don't know??
Guess I should of asked.

So I recon bog standard??

I would ask as there are some horrid ones out there. the first one dd had was an old ladies one!! she was 5 ffs. I kicked of and got her a nice yellow one.

Oh crap, part of the reason we are swapping is because he has taken a dislike to the m/buggy & is choosing to sit on the ground rather than get in the buggy!

Don't rate my chances of getting hold of anyone before monday either.

ds1 has the kid active one he had a purple one before, now he is 11, he choose a black one

Ah maybe, she did offer us a choice of black, blue or purple.

That one looks OK, fingers crossed. Thanks sparkly.

its actually really nice, ds1 is too small for the other nice one, so has to have this one for now

Apart from the Lomax Kid Active another really popular NHS chair is the Invacare Action 3 Junior...

doclibrary.invacare.co.uk/Office/Europe/Marketing/MktDocUK.nsf/VALLMDocument/E33FF0CEA63ADC7C802571A 30039EE6E/${File}/A3%20Junior%20EP%20UK.pdf

although given the colour choices you were given if it is an Invacare chair its more likely to be the Invacare Blade Plus...

doclibrary.invacare.co.uk/Office/Europe/Marketing/MktDocUK.nsf/VALLMDocument/5D56FA19C099DC8380256EC 2003A8CBA/${File}/Blade%20Plus%20EP%20UK%2004.pdf

ah ok those links didnt work

if you go to www.invacare.co.uk and click on manual wheelchairs you'll get the sales brochures for both chairs with colour choices and spoke covers etc

Thanks glittery I'll show him those, they look nice (if thats the right word for a wheelchair)

DS's NHS issue wheelchair is an Invacare Blade Plus in blue - he could also choose what colour tyres (black or white) and rim - his is silver. He likes it well enough.
like this but the propelling rim is silver

Actually, DS is v proud of his chair - and currently has tinsel threaded through the tyres - any touch like that seems to add enthusiasm!.

Thats what i'm hoping blu, maybe he'll be a bit happier with a wheelchair.
DS1 can't wait & keeps telling ds2 that it will be cool, not that ds2 really cares about cool.

I'm just hoping its going to be easier to push than a tall, heavy 6 yr old in a major buggy.

Thanks again

I find a child's wheelchair very uncomfortable to push - the handles are too low, the space between the wheels too narrow - I don't know if anything can be done about handle extensions.
But I would have thought he would feel altogether more grown-up in a wheelchair rather than a major buggy.

the invacare action 3 junior can be fitted with an optional "push bar" which is kind of like an on its side U shape which clamps across the handles and comes up and across to raise the height by a good 4 or 5 inches. not sure if it can be fitted on the blade tho, but its worth asking about if it is the blade you're issued with

Thanks, glittery - will investigate!

Our physio pushed DS to the car after one appointment, a 'first' for her, and was horrified by the potential damage the position could inflict on an able-bodied parent!

My friend H, although 16, had to use an Action 3 when her chair was being repaired. I speak from experience, it was heavy! Hope your DS likes his though, I've seen some very nice looking lightweight ones before (again, if you can use the word nice to describe wheelchairs!).

My son has been given a terrible NHS wheelchair - the sort that someone has described as an old lady's. It has small wheels - he can't self propel and is likely to put his hands in the wheels. This, along with the weight makes it almost impossible to push up hills. We live on a huge hill, so we now drive everywhere.

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as wheel covers for manual wheelchairs to stop him mangling his fingers? And will the NHS provide?

I know you can get spoke covers for chairs with the big back wheels, but not for the small ones.

j have seen spoke covers for smaller rear wheels but only on a remploy chair-dont know what model sorry. If its a safety issue and not just a cosmetic reason for needing them then NHS should provide them.