Senior Clinical Coordinator Lauren Flaherty recently represented our sister organisation Motivation (UK) at the Asia Pacific Occupational Therapy Conference held in Rotorua, New Zealand. Lauren presented an intensive, four-hour workshop focused on Motivation’s Emergency Response Wheelchair and training package.
The provision of wheelchairs in a conflict or disaster related emergency situation continues to require the support of trained service providers, however the situation requires those providers to modify the way in which they work. The teams are focused on meeting the short term needs (less than six months) of: people with a pre-existing mobility disability who’s wheelchairs may have been lost or damaged; people with acute injuries that could be discharged from hospital, freeing up resources for people with more serious injuries, and; those who have acquired a permanent disability as a result of the emergency situation.
Motivation (UK) in collaboration with Handicap International and Johanniter International has developed an Emergency Response Wheelchair and training package in order to meet this specific need. The wheelchair can be purchased and pre-positioned in preparation for an emergency situation. The training package can be delivered to emergency response personal before or during an emergency response – it is a XX hour package that focuses on the essential skills required to ensure that the wheelchairs is provided in a safe way.
For more information on the Emergency Response Wheelchair or training package, contact Lauren Flaherty or Motivation’s (UK) Sarah Sheldon.