Safe Transportation of Wheelchairs
Best Practice Guidelines
Guidance on safe transportation of wheelchair users
General points
• Transport considerations should be factored into the initial phase of the wheelchair and seating assessment process.
• Manufacturers of wheelchairs and seating systems should make information relating to the safe transportation of their products readily available and easy to understand.
• In order to provide the safest possible travel environment for passengers in wheelchairs as well as other occupants of the vehicle, a multi-disciplinary approach is essential, involving the wheelchair occupant with their families, carers, equipment prescribers, and transport providers.
Securing the wheelchair and occupant
• When properly used, a wheelchair tie-down and occupant restraint system (WTORS) allows a wheelchair to be secured to the vehicle floor, and the passenger in the wheelchair to benefit from a properly fitted seatbelt system.
• A wheelchair that has been successfully crash-tested, used in conjunction with a proven WTORS, is fundamental to the provision of safe transport in a motor vehicle, for both the user who remains seated in their wheelchair, and for other vehicle occupants.
• Exceptions to the requirement for use of WTORS exist on certain high-density, low-speed urban public transport vehicles that allow standing passengers, such as city buses, where the likelihood of a crash situation and the severity thereof are low. In these situations, use of a rear-facing wheelchair containment station may be appropriate.
• Both powered and manual wheelchairs provide a variety of seated postures through their tilt, recline, and other mechanisms. Manufacturers should provide guidelines about the use of these mechanisms during transport.
• Wheelchair manufacturers should highlight in their pre-sale literature any special requirements relating to the use of their wheelchair with WTORS. The configuration of the specific representative wheelchair which underwent the
crashworthiness test should be provided so that prescribers and purchasers can make informed decisions.
Seating
• The combination of a crashworthy seating system, which allows for the proper fitting of the occupant restraints, and a similarly crash-tested wheelchair base frame, serve to demonstrate that the risks of equipment failure when exposed to
crash conditions during transport have been reduced as far as is reasonably possible.
• To minimise the risk of injury for wheelchair occupants, prescribers should seek to ensure that the way in which the seating system is affixed to the wheelchair base is suitable for use in transport. It is imperative that manufacturer’s instructions for use and fitting instructions for seating systems are adhered to carefully.
Risk Management
• Due to the individual nature of disability, prescribers may need to request the modification of a wheelchair or off-the-shelf seating system, in order to address the postural and functional needs of a wheelchair occupant. In such cases, so that safe access to transport can be provided, the necessary modifications should be undertaken and documented in line with relevant medical device legislation, and a risk management process should be followed.
• Stakeholders should have an understanding of a documented risk assessment process, including the relevant risk/benefit analysis and evaluation undertaken for each case.
• Prescribers should be aware of the type of transport environment and the facilities available for entering and leaving the vehicle, for most effective risk management.
• Informed risk/benefit analysis can only be undertaken on the basis of sound evidence. There should be an open climate around safety issues, so that incidents and injuries are systematically reported back to the transport companies, with formalised reporting procedures that facilitate the collation of facts without seeking to assign blame to individuals.
The information here is taken from the PMG (Posture And Mobility Group) International Best Practice guide. The full document can be downloaded as a PDF from this page on their website (it will open in a new browser window)
You can read more about community transport here
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