subject: New Options For Advanced Patient Transportation [print this page] With ergonomic seating, folding armrests and high weight capacity, there are new options now available for advanced patient transportation. The design of the standard wheelchair is more than seven decades old. Imagine what the world would be like if automobile design, aircraft design, medical devices, even kitchen appliances, had stopped advancing in the early 1930s. Such a thought is nearly inconceivable, and yet, this is the state of the standard, manual wheelchair used in many modern hospitals. Doctors wouldn't think of putting patients into a 1930s era X-ray machine, but still put patients into what is essentially the same transport device as was used by their grandparents or great-grandparents.
The standard wheelchair, while serviceable, requires many compromises. They are not particularly comfortable for the patient. They fold, which makes them easy targets for theft. There are many moving parts which can wear and break. They are uncomfortable for the attendant to push. The patient must be physically lifted over the arm rests. They require the user or attendant to set a manual brake when parked. The standard wheelchair is also difficult to store, even when folded, leading to impaired traffic flow.
For advanced patient transportation, non-folding, specially built transport chairs are ideal. Features such as an ergonomic steel frame, retracting arm rests and seat belts, an easy to push, maneuverable design for attendants and an automatic braking system are key.
For easy transfer of patients, select a design with retracting arm rests and a higher seating position. This allows the attendant to move the patient directly from the transport chair to exam table, gurney or hospital bed from the side, without having to lift the patient. No-lift side transfer means greater comfort for the patient and for the attendant, as it requires less effort to move the patient from the chair.
Using smaller wheels in front and back, rather than having oversized wheels at the rear, also allows for much greater maneuverability of the chair. Smaller, caster-type wheels allow the transport chair to turn on its own length, making it easier to move around in tight spaces.
In addition to greater maneuverability, well-designed transport chairs are much easier for the attendant or hospital volunteer to move. A single push bar, rather than dual, rear-facing push handles, allow the attendant to stand in a more upright, natural position. This, in turn, makes pushing the chair more comfortable, reducing the potential of injury and increasing the number of transports an attendant can make in a single shift.
An automatic braking system is also a great benefit. In the standard wheelchair design, the attendant or patient must remember to manually set a brake. By integrating the braking system into the single push bar, the brake automatically engages when the attendant removes his or her hands.
Finally, utilizing a no-fold design, rather than the standard x-brace folding design, makes transport chairs much more difficult to steal. A non-folding, steel frame chair will not fit into a car's trunk, reducing cost through loss to the institution.
