Electric Powered WheelChair

What are the main benefits of Electric Powered Wheelchairs?

Electric powered Wheelchairs give the user all the benefits of a manual wheelchair, except you don’t need a carer to push it for you. This is called independence. 

Electric power wheelchairs are perfect if the user has upper body weakness or is generally weak, because the controls on the modern electric power wheelchair are so easy to operate, totally reliable, and the seat is just so comfortable. 

There are two basic types of electric powered wheelchairs. 

The first is the traditional electric powered wheelchair, which loos much the same as a manual wheelchair but it has a motor system and a battery. 

The second is the Affixed Seating Style Electric Power Wheelchair. Chairs like this normally have some form of height adjustment, and they can recline and tilt. 

Before you make a decision to buy an electric powered wheelchair you need to take advice, and it needs to be good advice, because you will be spending a fair amount of money, and it is therefore important you make the right choice. 

How do you know if you need to be looking at electric powered wheelchairs for your, or a family member’s mobility. 

There are a few questions that need asking. 

The first is: Can you push yourself in a manual wheelchair?
The second is: Do you find it difficult to transfer yourself from one seat to another?.
The third is: Do you have weak arms and shoulders?
The fourth is: Could you control a joystick, and would it be easier than the handle bar controls you find on mobility scooters? 

There are some considerations before you invest in an electric power wheelchair, and you need to be sure you are making the right decision, so consider this. 

Will your electric power wheelchair be able to move easily around your home, and will you be able to use it at work and in all the other places you visit in your daily life? 

Charging your electric powered wheelchair is another consideration. How far does a single charge last, and will that be enough for your daily routine? 

Having somewhere convenient to recharge the battery becomes an important consideration, and this tied into storage space. Electric powered wheelchairs need room to store them when they are not in use, and they tend not to be small items of kit. 

Another question is about where you will use the electric powered wheelchair.
Are you considering using it on the road, and off the road as well, or will it just be used inside the house. If your electric powered wheelchair needs to be used away from your home is it easily transportable. 

Choice must be based on questions like the above, and then linking them to what you have or own. 

Is your home suitable to use electric powered wheelchairs? In other words are the doors wide enough, are there stairs
Does your electric powered wheelchair need to be transported, and if it does, can it fold or be dismantled easily?  

Again don’t buy without getting the answers to some questions. 

1.Will the company selling you the electric powered wheelchair offer you an assessment so you can be sure you are buying the right wheelchair. 

2. Will they assemble the wheelchair when it arrives or do you have to do it,  

3. Is there a full warranty, and will they come and repair your electric powered wheelchair, or will you need to send it back, and if so, who pays the transportation costs?  

These questions may seem basic, but they are important, and need to beasked before embarking on the purchase of any electric powered wheelchairs