/Adjusted%202021%20Originals/DRCS%20Logo%20BrandMark%20Positive%20w%20Square%20BG%20Left%20Aligned%20PNG-min.png?width=95&height=99&name=DRCS%20Logo%20BrandMark%20Positive%20w%20Square%20BG%20Left%20Aligned%20PNG-min.png "DR Care Solutions | Your Care, Your Support, Your Way | Aged Care & Disability Care Consulting Services")
The Accessible Pushchair gives manual wheelchair users the opportunity to take their young children out and enjoy independence.
© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions
Parents using manual wheelchairs feel their isolation and dependence on others keenly when it comes to enjoying the simple pleasure of an outing with their baby.
An outing to the local playground or one around the block to calm a crying baby is not easy, with most parents using manual wheelchairs resorting to the unsafe and uncomfortable practice of having a baby in their lap.
Over the past two decades, innovative pushchairs attachable to adult manual wheelchairs have been invented in the UK, US, Israel and Norway[1]. However, without commercial partners, they remain prototypes yet to hit the general market[2].
The UK not-for-profit, Designability[3], is leading the charge with its latest version, the Accessible Pushchair. Their first version was a Wheelchair Baby Carrier released in 2006.
Launched at an international baby product trade fair in the UK in October 2023, the Accessible Pushchair immediately won the UK Baby Product Association’s 2023 Concept & Innovation Award.[4]
To understand its appeal, watch Lynn’s story.
Designability’s challenge now is to find a commercial partner to take the product to market.
No doubt the sticking point for commercial investors is the limited number of consumers and their limited period of need. For example, in the UK there is an estimated 20,000 parents using manual wheelchairs[5] and a child is usually out of a pram by three years of age.
Perhaps a loan scheme, similar to Designability’s Wizzybug loan scheme[6] for infant children using wheelchairs, is an answer. We’ll watch this space.
On double-checking the various online mobility product stores, I can confirm that in Australia there is no attachable pram device for adult manual wheelchairs available at these online stores.
So, this International Wheelchair Day, 1 March 2024, when celebrating the independence that wheelchairs bring to people living with a disability, spread the word on the Accessible Pushchair and their need for a commercial partnership to make this innovation available!
Need help caring for or supporting a loved one? Please feel free to call me, Danielle Robertson, at any time for an initial complimentary discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place.
Resources
[1] UK (Designability, BuggyPod), US (University of Detroit Mercy student project), Israel (Easy Stroll) and Norway (Cursum Stroller)
[2] While this article states that the BuggyPod solution is available, it was not available on the BuggyPod UK website.
[3] Designability is a UK not-for-profit which invents innovative products and services with and for people with a disability, with the aim of helping them enjoy independent lives.
[4] Designability: We Won The Baby Product Association's Concept & Innovation Award
[5] Designability: Accessible Pushchair
[6] Designability: Wizzybug Loan Scheme
