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Wheelchair clinic rooms

Posted By Ab51mum

"Wheelchair clinic rooms"

About: Wheelchair clinic MARS

(as a service user),

We have attended MARS wheelchair clinic at Woodend hospital, Aberdeen, for many years with my son. The appointments are typically several hours long. This raises a few points I would like to bring to your attention.

Firstly, the rooms used to conduct the appointments, which you are then left in whilst your wheelchair is removed and fixed while you wait, are the dullest rooms in existence. They are plain walled, bare rooms. Devoid of anything to look at or play with. It would be great to add some colour, interest, toys, television/ radio. I know they used to have some toys, but they were removed due to infection control - but the children's hospital have toys so ...

Secondly, as most of the people attending the clinic are full time wheelchair users, it would be great to have some spare chairs - wheelchair or supportive specialist comfortable armchairs in the room. We try to take an extra buggy with us, but that is logistically not possible for us all the time, and some others do not have a spare chair of any type. If you are left for an hour or more whilst your chair is being fixed, in a room lacking in anything remotely interesting it makes life harder for the patients/ parents and carers.

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Responses

Response from Scott Arnot, Service Manager, Renal and Gastroenterology Services, NHS Grampian 5 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Scott Arnot
Service Manager, Renal and Gastroenterology Services,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 07/12/2018 at 17:25
Published on Care Opinion on 10/12/2018 at 11:24

picture of Scott Arnot

Dear Ab51mum,

Thank you for your feedback regarding the Wheelchair Service clinic rooms. We would like to offer our apologies that the department environment does not offer much stimulation, the Service is aware of this and in agreement with you that improvement is needed; a project is currently underway to look at the options. We hope to get some input from families who are regular visitors to the service once the plans are a little more advanced.

Providing alternative seating for service users is a little more difficult because of the wide range of sizes of people who use wheelchairs and the wide variation in their need for support from their seat. The Wheelchair Service does have supportive seating which is suitable for younger children and a variety of armchairs which are suitable for adults who do not need additional support but there will always be some individuals whose needs are unique to them and who we are unable to support comfortably in a seat while their wheelchair is being worked on. For these people the only option is to lie on the bed while the work is carried out.

If you would like to discuss any of your concerns further please do not hesitate to contact the Wheelchair Service direct on 01224 556841 or 556012.

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Update posted by Ab51mum (a service user)

Thank you for your reply.

I know that after I made the Clinic staff aware of the first PPOD chair we received, ( many years ago as we had one of the first produced), that you obtained a PPOD chair ( maybe 2). You only have the small size though, and they go up to adult size - my son has that one now, and it can easily fit myself at 5.5 - so could go higher. These are ideal for short periods of time for children/ teens/ adults that need more support than a normal armchair. These people are really who need the option of seating when you take their wheelchair the most.

The current set up is bordering unsafe, as the only option is the plinth bed - which is narrow and short - a profiling electric bed would be a better option. My son is 5.4ft and only 14 - He needs full support, and as he is 50+kg it needs to be safe / comfortable for him for the hours we are waiting, but also safe for parents/ carers.

Response from Jon Taylor, Unit Operational Manager, Medicine 1, NHS Grampian 5 years ago
Jon Taylor
Unit Operational Manager, Medicine 1,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 09/01/2019 at 18:43
Published on Care Opinion at 22:28

Dear Ab51mum,

The Wheelchair Service Manager, Mr Loudon, is aware of your comments and would be very happy to discuss your concerns directly with you, including those specific to your son. The service can be contacted on 01224 556841 or at wheelchairs.grampian@nhs.net.

The Wheelchair Service does have two P-Pod seats as you have mentioned but these are suitable for smaller people. It becomes more difficult to get appropriate supportive seating as people become bigger because the variety of sizes and the range of needs becomes much larger so it is difficult to accommodate all of those requirements with a few pieces of equipment. Most of our adult sized clients are comfortable and safe when sitting in an armchair or lying on the plinth. The service also has floor mats available to use should there be concerns someone may be at risk of falling using the plinth. If you are worried about the safety of your son when he is in the department then these concerns should be raised with the staff at the time or discussed in advance.

The Wheelchair Service is currently reviewing the facilities in the clinic rooms, including seeking views from patients, families, carers and staff, and any further suggestions for improvements are very welcome.

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