Up to now my wife has been able to walk 10 to 15 yrds with difficulty
and my help but recently we have had to use a wheelchair from/at the
major stores.
After her latest stay in hospital,for a month, she accepts the chair
is a must.
I have looked on the internet but the pictures of various chairs do
look similar.
The type used by Tesco/Morrisons are very good - from our point of
view.
Do these chairs have a trade name that I could look up?

Responding to London@ezauza.com... (With an important rant)
> Up to now my wife has been able to walk 10 to 15 yrds with difficulty
> and my help but recently we have had to use a wheelchair from/at the
> major stores.
> After her latest stay in hospital,for a month, she accepts the chair
> is a must.
> I have looked on the internet but the pictures of various chairs do
> look similar.
> The type used by Tesco/Morrisons are very good - from our point of
> view.
> Do these chairs have a trade name that I could look up?

STOP!!!!!!!

You need to realise right now that you are "fresh meat" for 
TomDickHarry.Co who will confirm all the mistaken ideas you have so 
they can sell you something that WILL cause more problems!

If your wife has that much difficulty walking, she should ALREADY be 
using a power chair as a PREVENTETIVE assistance device.

Forget the "I'm not ready for a wheelchair yet!" defiant statements. 
Thats just downright dumb, though many struggle with that for years 
before eventually, as a result of their denials, end up in one 
PERMANENTLY!

You are OVERDUE for a prescription from your doctor for a power 
chair. NOT a manual fold up deckchair that will hurt her as a result 
of it being a badly fitted piece of junk, and you because you will be 
the one pushing it and straining/permanently damaging your lower back 
FACT!

Find out about how to go about being positive and assertive with your 
doctor, and make sure you get a prescription for a *power chair*
because it is required to meet your ONGOING MEDICAL NEEDS.

If your doctor doesn't "get it", get another doctor. They are 
oath-bound to not cause harm. Failing to prescribe a power chair at 
this point is a harmful act. No compromise, as compromise comes out 
of your now minimal health levels.

Once you've got a prescription for a power chair, you'll find 
yourself at the tender mercies of your local Wheelchair Services 
department. These "nice ladies" will then mess you about for as long 
as they can, before finally providing you with a badly fitted piece 
of junk that will cause more harm. (Keep asking them why they are 
continuing to cause further harm by delaying provision of the 
equiment you NEED to meet your MEDICAL NEEDS. That usually speeds 
them up a bit when there is enough in the system to land on their 
desk again.)

If you read up on other people's experiences of this procedure, get a 
big fat clue about how this sid eof things actually works, rather 
than how you will be TOLD it works, then, if you gert serious about 
it, you should be able to push things along and eventually get a 
powerchair that will be the beginning of a new story for you both.

Apart from the usual blather about budgets, "If we give you this now, 
there won't be enough left for someone else who probably needs it 
more!" etc. the "nice ladies" will also probably "forget" to mention 
that you have CHOICES about how your wheelchair is provided. You can 
have a voucher for a chair that you can redeem at any of the 
outlets on their "approved suppliers" list. You DO NOT have to accept 
what they tell you you will have. (Expect a bit of messing about 
when they realise you are a "difficult patient", but stick with it, 
or be doomed to their oversight interferences from then on.)

http://www.burgerman.info/dda.htm

...would be a good place to start learning and developing the
appropriate attitudes and knowledge-base you'll need to avoid being
put through the meat-grinder that awaits the unwary.


And finally...

> The type used by Tesco/Morrisons are very good - from our point of
> view.

Your view will cause more harm. Update it. Supermarket chairs are 
harmful junk. Do NOT settle for anything that looks like this!


Hope this helps a bit. No apologies for the terseness. The sooner you 
get a clue about the real world, the less harm you'll suffer/cause.

-- 
          ________________.0.________________
          The Way of the Chao-Pao! is strong.
               http://tinyurl.com/382gmp
               -----------.|.-----------

Instead of going on the net and getting any old thing that might not be all 
that suitable perhaps you & your wife should contact her gp to discuss the 
matter. He or she will be able to put you in touch with the proper people who 
can asses your wife's needs properly. Also an NHS wheelchair would mean that 
there would be no repair costs which can be a good thing if your on a tight 
budget.

Responding to Jock Strap...
>
> Instead of going on the net and getting any old thing that might not be all 
> that suitable perhaps you & your wife should contact her gp to discuss the 
> matter. He or she will be able to put you in touch with the proper people who 
> can asses your wife's needs properly. Also an NHS wheelchair would mean that 
> there would be no repair costs which can be a good thing if your on a tight 
> budget.

I have to disagree in part with this, based on personal experience 
and that of others. (See my other post on this topic)

Doctors often only want to get a patient "seen to" and out in the 
simplest manner available. When you KNOW you need a wheelchair 
prescription, you would be well advised to read up on how things can 
really happen, and be prepared for a "learning experience". 

The people a doctor will "put you onto" will be your local Wheelchair 
Services, and chances are you'll get the same treatment as far too 
many people do, bad.

WCSs, especially these days, run themselves for the benefit of the
survival of their jobs, and that of their departments. This means not
"upsetting" their bosses by spending too much, or allowing too many
people to make their own choices with regard to what chair they want. 
This is because there is an existing "arrangement" whereby WCSs get
discounts for promoting the provision of certain manufacture's
products, which are, to say the least, basic, if not crappy enough to
be disfunctional. (Who mentioned Inv*c*re? Not me Guv!)

If you accept the default "loaner" arrangement, they will "manage"
your chair, and you. (This is generally a "bad thing".) If, however,
you take the option of a voucher, and chose your own chair, you can
be far more certain of getting something you actually need, rather
than something WCSs want to provide. (For example, despite *two*
measurings, our WCSs sent our first chair with a seat base 5 inches
longer than the required leg length. Durrr!)

Personal tight budget considerations are often outweighed by the
sheer inconvenience of having to be held accountable for every little
thing regarding the use of your chair, (including "workshop/service
time" = weeks/months) which remains their property if its a "loaner".
If its a voucher purchase, its your chair, your decision on how to
use it, modify it, or otherwise.

From experience, I'd strongly recommend people do their own research, 
find the chair they know they need (and don't be afraid of sticking 
to what you know you need, as what can look like luxury can all so 
easily turn into a basic requirement after 8 hours in it), and then 
bury their WCSs in documentation and demands to know why they are 
failing to meet your prescribed medical needs.

But I've covered this in my other post.

Suffice to say, I've yet to hear a *good* story about WCSs anywhere.

Be prepared. Get a clue. Stick to your guns.

-- 
          ________________.0.________________
          The Way of the Chao-Pao! is strong.
               http://tinyurl.com/382gmp
               -----------.|.-----------

On 20 Jan, 23:03, Mike  wrote:
> Responding to Jock Strap...
>
>
>
> > Instead of going on the net and getting any old thing that might not be all
> > that suitable perhaps you & your wife should contact her gp to discuss the
> > matter. He or she will be able to put you in touch with the proper people who
> > can asses your wife's needs properly. Also an NHS wheelchair would mean that
> > there would be no repair costs which can be a good thing if your on a tight
> > budget.
>
> I have to disagree in part with this, based on personal experience
> and that of others. (See my other post on this topic)
>
> Doctors often only want to get a patient "seen to" and out in the
> simplest manner available. When you KNOW you need a wheelchair
> prescription, you would be well advised to read up on how things can
> really happen, and be prepared for a "learning experience".
>
> The people a doctor will "put you onto" will be your local Wheelchair
> Services, and chances are you'll get the same treatment as far too
> many people do, bad.
>
> WCSs, especially these days, run themselves for the benefit of the
> survival of their jobs, and that of their departments. This means not
> "upsetting" their bosses by spending too much, or allowing too many
> people to make their own choices with regard to what chair they want.
> This is because there is an existing "arrangement" whereby WCSs get
> discounts for promoting the provision of certain manufacture's
> products, which are, to say the least, basic, if not crappy enough to
> be disfunctional. (Who mentioned Inv*c*re? Not me Guv!)
>
> If you accept the default "loaner" arrangement, they will "manage"
> your chair, and you. (This is generally a "bad thing".) If, however,
> you take the option of a voucher, and chose your own chair, you can
> be far more certain of getting something you actually need, rather
> than something WCSs want to provide. (For example, despite *two*
> measurings, our WCSs sent our first chair with a seat base 5 inches
> longer than the required leg length. Durrr!)
>
> Personal tight budget considerations are often outweighed by the
> sheer inconvenience of having to be held accountable for every little
> thing regarding the use of your chair, (including "workshop/service
> time" = weeks/months) which remains their property if its a "loaner".
> If its a voucher purchase, its your chair, your decision on how to
> use it, modify it, or otherwise.
>
> From experience, I'd strongly recommend people do their own research,
> find the chair they know they need (and don't be afraid of sticking
> to what you know you need, as what can look like luxury can all so
> easily turn into a basic requirement after 8 hours in it), and then
> bury their WCSs in documentation and demands to know why they are
> failing to meet your prescribed medical needs.
>
> But I've covered this in my other post.
>
> Suffice to say, I've yet to hear a *good* story about WCSs anywhere.
>
> Be prepared. Get a clue. Stick to your guns.
>
> --
>           ________________.0.________________
>           The Way of the Chao-Pao! is strong.
>                http://tinyurl.com/382gmp
>                -----------.|.-----------



Simply put the choices are either :

1) non powered wheelchairs ie self propelled , transit wheelchair ,

2) Wheelchair with power pack ,

3)Powerchair

Now our quite right to be honest a lot tof them are the same and are
just rebadged .
As a retailer we strongly advise getting an assement of your exact
needs .
And then purchasing according to that.

1.Will he or she need the power chair/wheelchair for indoors or
outdoors use


2.What is the ideal weight he or she wants the wheelchair to be

3.What is the weight the power wheelchair will have to support

4.What type of motorization it has or do you just need a non powered
standard wheelchair

5.In tha case oof the non powered chair will she wish to be pushed or
be ok with a self propelled wheel chair?
We have a scooter chooser and powerchair chooser
http://www.goactivemobility.co.uk/scooter_chooser.aspx

However to reiterate its worth having a proper assesment.

Thanks for all the replies - i now know a bit more about what i have
to do.

Responding to London@ezauza.com...
> Thanks for all the replies - i now know a bit more about what i have
> to do.

Treat the whole thing as a game. Its wrong that it should be a game, 
but if you pace yourself and don't let the various "levels" get to 
you, you'll eventually get to the end level where you get what you 
need.

Good luck!

-- 
          ________________.0.________________
          The Way of the Chao-Pao! is strong.
               http://tinyurl.com/382gmp
               -----------.|.-----------