Creative suggestions Richard offered some creative ways to avoid the problem of competition between imported and locally built wheelchairs. Richard also noted that greater communication between wheelchair producer and donor organizations would go a long way toward alleviating the problem. Whether chairs are donated or locally built, additional services must accompany each wheelchair distributed. Each recipient of a chair must have her individual mobility and seating needs assessed in order to provide the greatest degree of independence. Whirlwind Wheelchair and Motivation have long emphasized that a free bad wheelchair might be worse than no wheelchair at all if it results in a pressure sore.
Pressures sores can be very difficult to heal.
They can lead to infections and, not infrequently, to death. Some examples of responsible wheelchair provision include special seating and the provision of wheelchair cushions. Provisions must be made to ensure that the chair can be repaired, and follow up assessment should be done to determine whether the equipment meets the person's needs. Richard and Krizack agreed to begin work on developing a set of guidelines to coordinate the provision of free and low cost wheelchairs in developing countries. The group plans to next meet in November in Guatemala City, Guatemala at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Association of Mobility Providers.