Skip to navigation Skip to main content

Maintenance & insurance

Here’s advice on how to look after your mobility equipment, what to do if your child’s equipment has a fault or if your child has an accident, as well as some guidance on insurance.
Mobility equipment is very expensive so it is worth looking after it well.  Looking after it properly will also reduce your long-term maintenance and repair costs.
With any new piece of mobility equipment you must always read the user manual and keep it in a safe place for easy reference.  

Essential maintenance

Here are some dos and don’ts:

  • Only use the mobility equipment as the manufacturer intended
  • Clean the equipment regularly
  • Frequently check for any loose screws and tighten them on a regular basis
  • Frequently check that the brakes are working correctly (and that they hold the equipment still when applied). Contact your dealer immediately if you are in any doubt
  • If the equipment has batteries, charge them regularly according to the user manual, even if the equipment is not in use
  • Never leave equipment for extended periods without charging the battery up as you will almost certainly then need to buy new batteries once you want to use the equipment again.
  • Check that the equipment fits well and comfortably and, if necessary, adjust it according to the user manual. If you are in any doubt contact your local dealer or ask your local therapist for help  
  • Ensure that you have up-to-date insurance and an extended warranty for your mobility equipment, so that you don’t get any unexpected repair or maintenance bills

If you have any questions about looking after your equipment, please email us and we’ll be happy to help.

Insurance

It is vital that you get insurance for your child’s mobility equipment whether we provide it or if you purchase it yourself.
We are currently reviewing appropriate insurers, but will happily recommend appropriate insurance providers who can provide the right cover. Please email us or telephone our Family Advice Worker on 020 7798 6112.    

What to do if you have faulty equipment

If your equipment develops a fault you should contact your local mobility equipment dealer and inform them immediately.
You should also register your fault with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and formally known as The Medical Devices Agency (MDA). This is an executive agency of the Department of Health which has a duty to safeguard users’ interests by ensuring that equipment meets appropriate standards of safety, quality and performance and faults are monitored and investigated where appropriate.
If you have received mobility equipment from Whizz-Kidz and a fault develops, you should also email us with the detail of your fault as soon as possible.

When should the MHRA be alerted?

The simple answer is when something occurs which could be determined as an ‘adverse incident’.  This is something that is not supposed to happen, or when equipment doesn’t do what it is supposed to do according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
The MHRA should also be informed of incidents even if they appear to be caused by human error as this could potentially be prevented by an improved design or revisions to the manufacturer’s instructions. You must also consider whether the fault that has occurred could be potentially harmful or cause an injury if it happened again.
To report your fault, you simply need to fill out an MHRA report form as soon as possible. You can download the form from the MHRA website. Alternatively, you can call them on 020 7972 8000.
Once your report has been received, the MHRA will inform you of any investigation. Where the results of an investigation have implications for other wheelchair users, the MHRA will issue Safety Notices, Device Alerts or Hazard Notices to the health service and relevant manufacturers or providers.
If you have any questions about reporting an equipment fault, please call our Family Advice Worker on 020 7798 6112 or email us. Alternatively, contact the MHRA direct on 020 7972 8000.

I would like to make a regular donation!

£

preferably starting on:

Please specify a date at least one month from now

With my Whizz-Kidz chair I could push myself and therefore choose where I wanted to go rather than where I was pushed. This taste of freedom and independence led to me getting involved in wheelchair sports

Anon