How to Transport Wheelchair Equipment From the Ground Floor

Wheelchair users are inhibited by their inability to change levels without assistance. There are a number of ways in which a wheelchair and related equipment can be transported to a different floor, with some being much easier for the user and assistants than others. The weight and size of the wheelchair are the major considerations when transporting the chair between levels.

Instructions

• 1

  Use an elevator. An elevator, which the user can wheel into independently, or which a wheelchair can be pushed into, is the best way to transport a wheelchair user from the ground floor to an upper level. There is no hard physical exertion required, and, for multiple level transfers, this is the quickest option.

• 2

  Transfer the wheelchair in a stairlift. Stairlifts are devices that enable a wheelchair to be transferred up a stair slope. The wheelchair needs to be sealed in the lift to avoid sliding out during transportation, and the controls should be operated by the person using the lift, or a user at either end of the track. This method means that the wheelchair can travel intact and does not have to be lifted at all in moving it from the ground floor up a level.

• 3

  Carry the wheelchair up stairs. This method of wheelchair transport is the most taxing on the assistant. If there is space and available assistants, then have the wheelchair user remain in the chair with the rear wheels pointed in the direction of the stairs. Taking care to keep the chair tilted backward so the user does not fall out, lift the wheelchair from step to step to the next level. If there are not enough assistants, the wheelchair user is too heavy, or there is no space to take a fully assembled wheelchair up the stairs, then the wheelchair user should be taken out of the chair, the chair dismantled (by collapsing the chair or removing the rear wheels) and carried up in pieces, before being reassembled at the top level.