Nursing Teaching on Measures to Promote Safety while Using Powered Wheelchair

Patient/caregiver was educated on measures to promote safety while using powered wheelchair as follows:

1. Wear comfortable clothes when using the wheelchair. Loose and frizzy clothing on the lower body can get entangled with the wheels, compromise balance, and lead to falls & accidents.
2. Make sure the unit is fully charged before taking the wheelchair out of the house. A fully charged battery on a powered wheelchair can go for around 8 hours. Carrying a portable battery with you always can be of additional help.
3. When out of power and a portable battery is not available, powered wheelchairs could be shifted from power mode to freewheel mode and the caregiver can manually push it like a regular wheelchair. This makes it easy for the caregiver to take home the wheelchair with a dead battery. Caregivers must be aware of the position of the lever to make this shift from drive mode to freewheel mode. Do not forget to power the unit after reaching home.
4. Once the charge is complete, turn the unit off and shift the lever from freewheel mode to power mode. If the lever stays in freewheel mode, the user cannot drive the wheelchair despite the battery being completely charged. With battery completely charged and the lever in power mode, turn the unit on and the chair should be ready to be driven.
5. As a safety feature, powered wheelchairs usually will not run when the unit is still being charged. Make sure to detach the charger from the unit, before turning the wheelchair on and starting to run.
6. Wheelchairs can come with hard rubber tires and inflatable tires. If you have lot of outdoor activity on your wheelchair, inflatable tires could work better, as they reduce the effort of operating the wheelchair on concrete and rocky surfaces. Hard rubber tires work better for indoor environment and so, are preferred by individuals who are more homebound. Make your selection on the tires to best suit your needs.
7. If your wheelchair has inflatable tires, check the pressure on the wheels before going out on it and pump air in, if needed. Inflatable tires stand the risk of going flat and so, carrying a portable air pump can be of additional help.
8. Having deep treads on the tires can be an additional safety feature. Deep treads enhance the grip of the wheel on the surfaces, thus helping to prevent skidding of the wheelchair and resultant accidents.
9. The speed knob on the powered wheelchair allows the sitter to control the speed or pace of the device. New users of powered wheelchair must leave the speed knob on low setting to prevent any undue accidents from happening. The setting on the speed could be gradually changed, as the user gets increasingly accustomed to the powered chair.
10. Tipping of powered wheelchair can happen while trying to get on or off a ramp. Poor balance with the chair in new wheelchair users can increasingly contribute to the tipping, leading to an accident and injury. New wheelchair users can choose to have anti tippers that prevent the wheelchair from tipping off. This can enhance safety and helps prevent accidents, especially with new users of powered wheelchairs. Also, applying the seatbelt can help enhance safety and security for the individual in wheelchair.
11. Having a powered recline and powered tilt on the wheelchair can help with the individual’s repositioning on the chair, prevent risk for skin integrity, reduce risk for skin breakdown and pressure ulcer development on dependent body parts.
12. Having a powered seat elevation on the wheelchair can help improve access to switchboards, electric sockets, kitchen counters, cabinets, store aisles, and other stuff that are located high up for a person seated in the wheelchair. This can help promote independence on self-care activities.
13. Make sure the joystick and the battery does not get wet. Moisture can compromise the function of the wheelchair and so, avoid taking your powered wheelchair out in rainy environment.