University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS FT has launched a new initiative to centralise eight wheelchairs, free for anyone to use for up to 12 hours.
The wheelchairs are now available near its emergency department, where users swipe a debit or credit card, to release the chair – in a similar way to hiring a bike.
Lincoln Dawkin, Director of Estates and Facilities at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, said: “We’re delighted to be leading the way by becoming the first hospital in the country to install this technology.
“This new system will further improve the patient experience by ensuring they are able to find a chair ready to go when they arrive at hospital.”
The system has been created by health-tech company Wheelshare, with the wheelchairs donated through the UHCW Charity.
Wheelshare chief business development officer, Nir Tobis, added: “Our innovative docking stations offer a user-friendly solution to all of this and we pride ourselves on providing a service that really makes a difference to patients ensuring that they can easily access a chair so that their visit to the hospital is as smooth as possible.”
