Sustainable wheelchair provision

Objective: This session is to heighten awareness, generate debate, facilitate dialogue, reflect and review current practices and unite as a community of people with a common goal to build a system for sustainable wheelchair provision within their own country. Main contents of paper: The focus is to introduce the concept of sustainable development and its relationship with wheelchair provision. Results: The outcomes of a doctoral thesis utilising this concept, giving consideration to the importance of context, understanding stakeholder perspectives and collaboration to create a strategy for sustainable wheelchair provision is presented. Conclusions: The importance of developing an open understanding of the essential and central role wheelchair provision plays in meeting basic human rights is identified. Setting up positive lines of communication using a common language between all those involved is required to develop a holistic and committed approach for good practice. Identified mandatory policies relating social responsibility, the environment and economic efficiencies is essential.