Aylesbury 1st August 2010 - UK Wheelchairs is proud to open the doors of its new collection point on August 1st. The UK Wheelchairs South East depot is aimed at making collection of wheelchairs easier for its customers in the capital and home counties.

Sales of wheelchairs and accessories have increased recently despite unfavourable economic conditions. At a time when many sectors are experiencing adverse conditions, UK Wheelchairs is recognising its opportunity to expand and take advantage of current market conditions. Sales of wheelchairs has not been adversely affected, in fact some models have seen an increase in sales based on last years figures. The Company sales director points out that the sale of wheelchairs and accessories has been largely unaffected by the economic downturn due to the marked change in demographics.

UK Wheelchairs realised that the sales of wheelchairs was likely to increase year on year as average life expectancies are extended. By opening a sales depot close to London and the home counties, UK Wheelchairs is able to provide a higher level of service to those living in the South East. Approximately 25% of wheelchairs sold are delivered to addresses in London and the home counties, by opening the depot in Aylesbury, UK Wheelchairs is ideally positioned to distribute to this swelling market. This move is seen as having other positive factors enabling UK Wheelchairs to retain its stronghold within the mobility sector.

UK Wheelchairs is one of the leading suppliers of wheelchairs and accessories to public and trade sectors in the UK focusing on supplying in house branded wheelchairs carrying the Esteem mark.

For more information or contact the director of public relations on 0800 0556377 or visit www.uk-wheelchairs.co.uk

Hi folks ! If you are looking for a good range of accessories to fit on your wheelchairs the you need to look no further than The Wheelchair Company website from UGO Healthcare.

The accessories available fit pretty much all wheelchairs. The section offers many gadgets that have become essential to me and fellow wheelchair users. From accessories that fit to wheelchairs to other gadgets that prove very useful to users of wheelchairs, you can find pretty much what you want.

From cushions, capes and cosies to drink holders trays and bags you can find it all in one place. I know when we go out for the day i like to have all i may need to make the day comfortable and enjoyable. With our typical British summers i like to have a good choice of wet weather gear.

If you can't find what you're looking for feel free to give our friendly and helpful staff a call on 0800 633 5377 and we'll be more than happy to help.

Torquay is where we are based so we thought we had to mention this rather amazing journey that is planned for the end of this month all to benefit the Sue Ryder Hospice.

Young Farmers are preparing to embark on a huge challenge that will see them travel from Yorkshire to Torquay on Freerider mobility scooters!

The challenge is part of their annual ‘Yorkshire’s Greatest Export’ campaign and will raise funds for Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice. Members will tow giant versions of their chosen products for 2012, potatoes and a wool bearing sheep behind the scooters to the Young Farmers AGM on the south coast.

The challenge takes place over 7 days between Saturday 21 and Friday 27 April. Freerider has told the riders that after they finish the challenge, they can auction the scooters off to boost the funds.

Linda Dixon of Freerider told us: “We are delighted to be providing our scooters to the Young Farmers for this exciting challenge. It’s a great way to demonstrate the durability and reliability of our products and we hope that a huge amount can be raised for Sue Ryder.”

No stopping wheelchair user Rich Harris as he embarks on The Indlovu Drive 2011 - Trans-Africa Expedition

Injured playing the sport he loves so much, Richard Harris has been a wheelchair user for 25 years and is now embarking on an incredible journey across the length of Africa.

At the age of nineteen Richard Harris was playing rugby as a prop-forward. An accident on the pitch left him acutely disabled and using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. After months and years of hard work Rich is now able to use crutches for a short while before he reverts to one of his self propelled or electric wheelchairs.

So what drives a man like Rich to want to even consider a trip like he is due to make in May this year 2011 ? Good question. For lots of information on the planning and now execution of the Trans-Africa Expedition with his wife Rachel please visit his web site and if you are able, contribute to his admirable charitable cause here.

Rich and Rachel have been planning this incredible journey for a few years. More recently they have been gathering all their kit including mobility equipment, specialist wheelchairs and a rather special Land Rover vehicle ready to ship it out to Durban where they will next see it at the beginning of May.

Their overland trip will take them through some of the wildest and most beautiful African scenery including these countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt.

At UK Wheelchairs, we wish my old school friend Rich and his wife Rachel the very best of luck on this very brave adventure and hope that they experience the best possible encounters to make this a real journey of a lifetime.

Introducing the all new Zippie Salsa Paediatic Wheelchair - from £1895 - coming very soon !

An incredibly functional yet fun powered wheelchair designed for the padeiatric / junior market. This really does have it all, starting with great looks and an abundance of styling, to a very functional set of features to ensure your child is catered for in a very safe way.

This compact powered wheelchair for children has adjustable power so enable users to learn at safe speeds and to enable you to control the maximum speed depending on the circumstances.

The adjustable seating systems allows a wide range of seating positions and means that this powered wheelchair is easy to recycle or re-use once finished with and can be set up to suit a wide range of size of users.

• Width range: 12 - 16“
• Depth range: 12 - 16“
• Backrest height: 15 - 17“
• Backrest angle: -4 to 16°

With variable power, this wheelchair can be restricted to ensure the speed meets the situation. The user joystick is remarkable sensitive giving acute control yet is not prone to over sensitivity. The armrests provide comfortable support even on the longest of outings.

Concentrating on comfort for the younger user, Sunrise Medical have deployed independent suspension on this pediatric wheelchair. A small coil spring is used on each wheel to give a steady comfortable ride and remove most vibration created by rough surfaces.

Choose the drive base to suit the environment

The mid wheel drive base and 6-wheel independent suspension ensures traction, stability and safety for younger users.
The rear wheel drive base features independent drive wheel suspension for maintaining traction and for good outdoor performance.

We often receive glowing reports from our happy wheelchair customers. The two main complements get are based on the quality of the wheelchairs that we sell and the prompt delivery of these wheelchairs.

We have always strived to give top quality customer service, whether its advice on selecting wheelchairs, rollators or other mobility products or after sales service helping customers with any queries they may have.

When we say that we offer Free next day delivery, it is important that we follow up and deliver a new wheelchair or walking frame the next day. We have a few problems with our present courier service where larger items such as wheelchairs have not been delivered on time. So we have decided to return to ParcelForce - winners of the top 10 Hitwise award last year for their parcel tracking web site.  The ability to track a delivery particularly of a wheelchair is very important and we hope that our customers will benefit from this change of service later this week.
Salutations - the UK-Wheelchair Sales Team

We are currently adding the finishing touches to our new Devon based warehouse and workshop facility.

With more space we are able to stock more wheelchairs and buy more wheelchairs at lower prices. The new warehouse is so big that we have also incorporated a wheelchair workshop where we will continue to service wheelchairs but now make it available nationally.

We are seeing an increase in demand for electric wheelchairs for which we need more space. Most self propelled and transit wheelchairs come in sturdy cartons which we can stack. However the electric wheelchairs require floors pace which we now have.

With a purpose build workshop for servicing, more yard space for the collection and delivery of new stock and a smart new office, we're looking forward to the completion of the new premises and being able to you offer better value for money at UK-Wheelchairs !

At UK-Wheelchairs we have shown in interest in the ongoing issues regarding regulation of electric mobility transport and particularly electric wheelchairs and we were very please to see active involvement by the CAA.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched an industry-wide campaign to highlight the safety requirements and obligations for the preparation and loading of electric mobility aids, including wheelchairs and scooters, on-board passenger aircraft. The initiative follows several safety incidents over recent years involving electric mobility aids.

As part of its campaign the CAA has produced a training video that runs through each step of the process – from booking the flight, to checking-in, to loading an electric mobility aid into the aircraft hold. The video, One Team, One Goal can be seen below.

MP Sarah will be in a wheelchair for diamond jubilee celebrations

We were sorry to hear that Falmouth and Truro's MP is recovering from a broken hip and is going to need a wheelchair for a while.

Sarah Newton, 50, fell while crossing a road between Portcullis House and the Palace of Westminster last Tuesday and underwent major surgery. She was released from St Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital this week.

"The doctors have given me strict instructions to keep off my feet for six weeks so you won't see me around as much as usual," she said, adding: "I've received excellent treatment from the NHS.

"The NHS advises that people walk with care, however much of a rush they're in. I've learnt how important it is to heed this advice, and hope that people can learn from my mistake."

She said she hoped to attend some local events for the Queen's diamond jubilee, albeit in a wheelchair.

We wish her all the best.

London 2012 Wheelchair hire and rental

At UK-Wheelchairs we are taking this summer very seriously and have increased our range of wheelchairs available for hire. We now have an additional 24 self propelled and transit wheelchairs available for hire and have taken many orders for visitors to London for the Jubilee celebrations.

In addition to the manual and transit wheelchairs we have children’s and narrow wheelchairs available for hire so that we can meet the requirements of all users.

The busiest time for wheelchair hire in London is over the Olympic games period. Our London 2012 bookings for visitors to the games extend beyond London and start as early as the 20th Of July, five days prior to the opening ceremony. We have adjusted the booking system slightly to make is as easy as possible for folk to book the wheelchairs online and over the phone. As always, we are able to supply the wheelchair within 24 hours of the order being placed, so even if its a last minute request we're hoping to satisfy everyone’s requirements.

We havekep our prices as low as possible and a wheelchair hire in London can be as cheap as £3 per day depending on the duration of the wheelchair rental. Please use our booking form here if you need to hire a wheelchair for the Olympic celebrations.