An innovative lightweight battery driven wheelchair, controlled by the carer rather than the occupant, was recently donated by the Lorne & District Men’s Shed to Lorne Aged Care.
The search for this unique style of wheelchair came out of witnessing some of the carers at Lorne Aged Care taking their loved ones for an outing in the standard manual wheelchairs. They had to really struggle with the steep Lorne terrain as they headed down the street for a coffee or to the ‘Anglers’ for a drink on a Friday night.
So, Lorne Shed Secretary Bill Youl went searching online for a lightweight powered wheelchair that was operated by the carer. This type of wheelchair was very difficult to locate until… Bingo! Up came the Ypush!
The Ypush is the invention of Guernsey-based Brian Harrison whose company Brintal Ltd took over five years to come up with the design. It is the first time it has been exported to Australia.
The wheelchair operates by the carer squeezing the back handles to release the brakes and then pressing an accelerator button to activate the motors in the back wheels… and away it goes. As soon as you release the back handles the wheelchair stops immediately. The Ypush also has reverse.
The cost of the Ypush is around $7000 (including export to Australia).
Brintal Limited are more than happy to work with other Men’s Sheds to export more Ypush Wheelchairs into Australia. Bill Youl at the Lorne & District Men’s Shed is able to facilitate contact.
