Manual Wheelchairs - World Health Organization

86 I guIdelInes on the provIsIon of manual wheelchaIrs In less resourced settIngs
3.4 Personnel in wheelchair service delivery
A summary of the major groups of personnel involved in wheelchair service delivery, including
manufacturers and suppliers, referral networks and service personnel, is shown in Fig. 3.4.
Fig. 3.4. Organizations and personnel involved in providing an appropriate wheelchair to a user
Referral networks
e.g. governmental and
nongovernmental health and
rehabilitation personnel
Manufacturers or suppliers
managers and technical personnel
USer
PrODUCT
3.4.1 Manufacturers or suppliers
p
p
Service
personnel
service team roles:
n management
n clinical
n technical
n training
support personnel
p
Wheelchair services usually receive wheelchairs from manufacturers or suppliers. The scope of these
guidelines does not allow a discussion of all production and supply personnel, but a few points are
made here concerning managers and technical production personnel.
Management
As well as day-to-day management, managers of wheelchair production facilities are responsible for
design selection and production quality. It is therefore important that managers receive feedback
from users and wheelchair services about how well their wheelchairs meet their needs.
Technical production personnel
Technical production personnel are concerned with the technical side of wheelchair production.
They are not necessarily involved in the fitting or modification of wheelchairs for individual users.
This differs from technical personnel in wheelchair services, who are involved in the assembly,
modification and fitting of wheelchairs for specific individuals. Nevertheless, some technical
personnel, typically those in smaller workshops, may be involved in both the manufacture and fitting
of wheelchairs. The term “technical production personnel” as used in these guidelines is limited to
wheelchair manufacturers and does not include the provision of services to individual users.