Negotiating Steps And Kerbs; Going Up And Down Stairs; Negotiating Ramps And Slopes - Invacare rea Azalea Assist User Manual

Rea® Azalea®

6.6 Negotiating steps and kerbs

WARNING!
Risk of overturning
When negotiating steps you could lose your
balance and tip the wheelchair over.
– Always approach steps and kerbs slowly and
carefully.
– Do not go up or down steps that are higher
than 15 cm.
CAUTION!
An activated anti-tipper prevents the wheelchair
from tipping backwards.
– Deactivate the anti-tipper before going up or
down steps or kerbs.
WARNING!
Risk of injury to the assistant and damage to
the wheelchair
Tilting the chair with a heavy user can hurt the
assistant's back and damage the chair.
– Make sure to be able to safely control the
wheelchair with a heavy user before performing
a tilting maneuver.
Going down a step with an assistant
1. Move the wheelchair right up to the kerb and hold the
handrims.
2. The assistant should grasp both push handles, push
downwards firmly and tilt the wheelchair backwards so
that the front wheels lift off the ground.
3. The assistant should then hold the wheelchair in this
position, push it carefully down the step and then tilt it
forwards until the front wheels are back on the ground.
Going up a step with an assistant
WARNING!
Risk of serious injuries
Going up steps and kerbs frequently can result
in earlier than expected fatigue break of the
wheelchair backrest. The user might fall out of
the wheelchair.
– Make sure to be able to safely control the
wheelchair with a user before performing a
tilting maneuver
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1. Move the wheelchair backwards until the rear wheels
touch the kerb.
2. The assistant should grasp both push handles, push
downwards firmly and tilt the wheelchair backwards so
that the front wheels lift off the ground, then pull the
rear wheels over the kerb until the front wheels can be
placed back on the ground.

6.7 Going up and down stairs

WARNING!
Risk of overturning
When negotiating stairs you could lose your
balance and overturn your wheelchair.
– Always use two assistants when negotiating
stairs with more than one step.
1. You can go up and down stairs by taking them one step
at a time, as described above. The first assistant should
stand behind the wheelchair holding the push handles.
The second assistant should hold a solid part of the
front frame to steady the wheelchair from the front.

6.8 Negotiating Ramps and Slopes

WARNING!
Risk due to wheelchair being out of control
When negotiating slopes or gradients your
wheelchair could tip backwards, forwards or
sideways.
– Always have an assistant behind the wheelchair
when approaching long slopes.
– Avoid lateral slopes.
– Avoid slopes of more than 7°.
– Avoid jerking when changing direction on a
slope.
CAUTION!
Your wheelchair could run away even on slightly
sloping ground if you do not control it using the
handrims.
– Use the parking brakes if your wheelchair is
stationary on sloping ground.
Going up slopes
To go up a slope, you must create some momentum, keep up
the momentum and control the direction at the same time.
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