Wheelchair Securement Gaining Popularity with Occupational Therapists
The relationship between Occupational Therapy (OT) and the wheelchair securement practice has been gaining ground as more and more OT’s are increasing their skill-set to include training mobility passengers and operators this critical element of transportation safety.
OT’s Becoming Adept at Wheelchair Securement Training
Take Katrina Pacey for example. An Australian OT, she worked in the Queensland State Government in Australia – training paratransit drivers on how to operate wheelchair securement equipment. Pacey trained her operators with the Q’STRAINT QRT-3 Series, a 4-point automatic retractor system – which is considered to be the industry-standard for paratransit fleet operators – among other transit modalities. It also handles flawlessly with heavy-weight wheelchairs.
Easy to Learn and Easy to Train
Pacey found the entire QRT-3 Series system easy to use and equally easy to teach her drivers how to use. She wisely trained her team how to operate the QRT-3 Series through role playing by having the drivers take turns securing themselves on wheelchairs situated in the wheelchair securement equipped paratransit vehicles.
From Safety to Flexibility
“The QRT-3 Series is better than any other tie down system that I have seen,” said Pacey. “So needless to say I am very pleased with the product across the board from safety to flexibility.”
Passengers choose where they want to sit
What Pacey especially likes about the QRT-3 Series is its ability to conform to each mobility passenger’s preferences. It can be accompanied with floor anchorages or tracks that are also manufactured by Q’STRAINT. These tracks can be installed on the vehicles’ floor and allow a paratransit operator to arrange wheelchair securement configurations to meet their mobility passenger’s preferences.
The Versatile L-Track
This way an operator can secure each mobility passenger at their preferred position in the vehicle by simply installing a floor anchorage like the Q’STRAINT L-Track on the floor of the vehicle. This versatile and secure track gives the operator the flexibility to seat mobility device passengers exactly where they want to be.
If a wheelchair occupant wants to sit next to more passengers they can be secured in the front of the vehicle and if they want more privacy they can be positioned in the rear of the vehicle. The great thing about the L-Track is that it can be installed the entire length of the vehicle providing a wide array of mobility passenger seating options.
“The QRT-3 Series is better than any other tie down system that I have seen…So needless to say I am very pleased with the product across the board from safety to flexibility.”
Only Requires Minimal Effort
“The operators who use the QRT-3 Series securement system every day love it because it only requires a minimal effort to secure a passenger,” Pacey added. “It is also faster to use and secures tightly.”
“What we found was the other systems weren’t as safe as they rely upon the operator to tighten the webbing adequately and different operators do things differently resulting in the possibility of failure to adequately secure. This is not a concern with the self-retractability of the QRT-3 Series.”
Driver Training OT’s
Pacey’s OT peers also use Q’STRAINT wheelchair securement equipment in an entirely different manner – as a driver trainer. These OT’s teach people who use mobility devices how to drive and secure themselves in a vehicle.
Another area of concentration in the OT driver training profession involves procuring the best wheelchair securement equipment in the industry. An OT wants to buy equipment that is the safest, most reliable and easiest to use for their clients. If they buy an inferior product – not only is their reputation on the line – but the clients will have difficulty using the securement equipment which can ultimately compromise their safety.
The bottom line is that an OT needs to ensure that they have purchased the most reliable and safest equipment from a wheelchair securement manufacturer that provides excellent customer service and stands by its products.
OT Driver Trainers teach Securement in Personal Vehicles
Driver Training OT’s also teach their clients how to secure themselves in personal vehicles either as a passenger or driver. This can be achieved with the Q’STRAINT QLK-150, a personal docking system that allows mobility device drivers or passengers to independently secure themselves.
At the end of the day it’s all about OT’s supporting their newly trained mobility device drivers to gain and have the independence to travel safely with the confidence behind products like the Q’STRAINT full suite of mobility safety solutions.
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