All wheelchair referrals received are assessed by a Posture and Mobility Therapist attached to the Wheelchair and Special Seating Services. A wheelchair is provided if the client is assessed as a permanent user who will be independently mobile with that wheelchair.

An independently mobile user is one who can self-propel or operate the wheelchair and transfer in-out of the wheelchair independently.

For outdoor use, e.g. relative or friends taking a resident out on a regular basis, an attendant propelled wheelchair may be provided at the Assessor's discretion. The client will be assessed in the clinic along with the person who will be pushing the wheelchair.

Where the resident's need is for occasional use only, a shared wheelchair may be issued. This chair will be numbered and marked as a base chair for identification purposes. The Assessor will take into account the overall needs of all residents and the total number of wheelchairs issued to the home. In general, we are likely to issue no more that one chair per ten residents who occasionally need a wheelchair.

The Wheelchair and Special Seating Services do not provide transit wheelchairs to be used for transferring/portering from one area to another. We would recommend 'portering wheelchairs' for this purpose, to be provided by the home. We recommend that all residents are transferred to a more suitable lounge/dining chair.

Any new resident moving into a Residential/Nursing Home who is already in possession of a wheelchair issued by this service, needs to be reassessed by the Wheelchair and Special Seating Services Therapist. The home must inform the Wheelchair and Special Seating Services immediately.

The Wheelchair and Special Seating Services should be notified immediately of any changes of circumstances of the residents using the wheelchairs, including residents moving in and out of the home. Chairs of deceased residents should be returned to the Wheelchair and Special Seating Services promptly.

A six monthly update sheet must be sent to the Wheelchair and Special Seating Services in order to keep accurate records.

All wheelchairs issued by the Wheelchair and Special Seating Services are repaired and maintained by this service. Any mechanical faults to the wheelchairs should be reported to the Repair Service on: 01302 566700 immediately. The Service cannot take responsibility for any damage caused or any faults which subsequently develop after it is issued unless we are informed.

The loss of the wheelchair or any accessories is deemed as the responsibility of the Nursing/Residential Home. The home will be charged full market replacement cost of the item lost.

Routine maintenance and cleaning of the wheelchairs will be the responsibility of the home.

The Wheelchair and Special Seating Services can offer training for common fault finding and routine maintenance.
For further information telephone: 01302 566701.

This information was provided by Doncaster Community Healthcare.

Please note that this document is relevant to the Doncaster Borough. DIAL Doncaster offers a short-term Wheelchair Hire Service. For further information click here.

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