Mobility Assistance

(updated March 2006)

Mobility Assistance

This topic requires a book of its own. ‘Lucky’ sufferers will in due course get back on their feet and be able to pick up where they left off. For the others help will be needed getting around. Perhaps just sticks, or a wheel chair, or a motorised chair, or adapted car, or an adapted mini van which can take the patient still in the wheel chair. Everyone needs their own solution and that will develop over time.

If there is a message, it is to try to stop using that new aid you have just acquired as soon as you can. We will all end up at different places along the route to mobility. If you have got to the stage of using a zimmer frame or rollator, give yourself a week with it and then see if you can’t manage a couple of steps without it. The first attempt is the hardest.

Wheelchairs

The NHS wheel chair is fairly basic. If you are going to buy your own, fold down handles are a bonus and removable wheels may be necessary. One choice will be whether to have smooth tyres or treaded ones. Wheel chairs are very much easier to manoeuvre indoors with smooth tyres and they will cause less damage to the carpets. On the down side you will get very little grip on a wet surface outside. If access to your house is via a wooden ramp, you may not be able to get up the ramp on a rainy day! It is easier with treaded tyres but the treads can bring a lot of mess into the house.

Cars & Vans

When it comes to obtaining a car, do try to get to the Mobility Roadshow which takes place every June. If you are going to buy an adapted car, get there early and, as soon as you arrive, book a test drive in all the models you might consider buying.

In the driving seat, there are numerous adaptations; repositioned pedals, hand controls, seat adjustments, steering wheel balls, … They all need to be experimented with. Power steering really does make life very much easier. An automatic is essential if you need hand controls. If you are having hand controls, the indicator switch on the hand control is worth having. Hand control selection needs some care. Most models consist of the two rods, attached to the pedals at the floor and, at the upper end, anchored by a metal bar to the steering column. However some makes are anchored at the top end with a cloth strap around the column which is fixed by Velcro. This type can become stuck inside the steering wheel and could cause a nasty accident — not recommended!

The Mobility Roadshow is really worth going to. You may want to look round one day, go away and think through everything overnight, and come back for a second round the next day. This will be worthwhile if you need a more comprehensive conversion to enable you to stay in your wheel chair inside the vehicle. A new ruling (June 2001) means that, where a vehicle is “permanently and substantially adapted” for disabled use by a full-time wheel chair user, then VAT does not have to be paid. More information can be found on the HM Customs and Excise web site at www.hmce.gov.uk (select forms & publications/VAT Information Sheet 7/01) or by phoning 0845 0109 000.

The Motability Scheme

Contract Hire Scheme for new vehicles
Hire Purchase Scheme for new vehicles
Hire Purchase Scheme for used vehicles.

Making the decision about a suitable car can be difficult. You must decide which model suits your mobility; you can not rely on someone else’s selection. There are two vital considerations; how easy will it be to get in and out, and how easy will it be to drive. Some considerations are listed below.

One challenge is getting in and out.

This is easiest if the doors are wide and will hinge outwards a full 90°.
You may need to use a bridging board to transfer from a wheel chair to the car seat. This is easiest if the car seat is at roughly the same height as that of the wheel chair and if the door sill is low.
Transferring is helped if there is somewhere on the car where a grab handle could be fitted; preferably where it will stop you holding onto the door (trapped fingers!).

You have got into the car, now what are you going to do with your wheel chair?

If there is someone with you, then they can place it in the back.
However it may be you are by yourself and in the driving seat. There are neat schemes for getting the wheel chair in behind your seat; some are too complex.
If you have been careful with the choice of car (and your upper body strength is good), it is possible to lift a folded wheelchair over your knees and over the steering wheel to leave it on the front passenger’s seat. It is much easier to do this if the wheelchair’s handles fold down and the wheels clip off; several firms make wheel chairs like that. The method works well until you try to use it on a wet day!
Ensure the tailgate/boot is easy to open from the wheel chair.
Ensure there is no sill at the rear access. Most cars have a deep sill making it difficult to a get the wheel chair out of the boot. Many estates have a flat floor with no sill.
If the wheel chair seat is at the same height as the rear floor of an estate and there is no sill at the tail gate, it was very easy to slide out of the chair onto the back of the car.
If the tail gate is wide and has no sill, lifting the wheel chair into the back is very easy while you sit on the tail. A high open tail gate will keep the rain off.
Roof rails can be grabbed. Hanging on to them, it may be possible to shuffle round to the driver’s door from the tail gate.

Manoeuvres like these need to be tried out before you buy.

Forum of Mobility Centres
These are 15 centres around the country that offer disabled and older people advice, assessments and test drives. To find out more, telephone 01344 661 000 or take a look at the website: www.justmobility.co.uk/forum.

Mobility And General Information Centre
MAGIC is an information centre run by Ford to provide support to people who have questions about mobility; call freephone 0800 240 241.

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