Why do we need to assess you?
We are evidently all different, and because of this a universal seating system is not practical or safe; therefore, an individual assessment is needed.
We need to:
We also need to establish a baseline by which the effectiveness of your specialist seating prescription can be measured. We pride ourselves on our efforts to truly improve your quality of life; we won’t just deliver a box then leave you to it! If you have any concerns after the issue of your chair we are happy to review the situation; read more about our aftercare.
Who will carry out your assessment?
We have a team of highly skilled and extremely knowledgeable professionals ready to meet you. Your seating assessor will have many years combined experience of assessing for specialist seating, and they have my personal seal of approval! We also use a network of distributors who are as passionate as us about our chairs, and they understand our mission to provide high-quality, life-enhancing posture and pressure management products.
What will happen at your assessment?
An assessment can take a full morning or afternoon to make sure we get all the information we need to prescribe the right seating system. Your assessment will contain two parts:
Subjective assessment
More commonly known as the information gathering part, this is the key to us finding out about you. To choose the best seating system for you and your needs it is essential that we fully understand what daily life is like for you. We need to learn the following:
- Your diagnosis and reasons for needing a new chair
- What the chair will be used for, and for how long
- If there is anything you think might affect your ability to use the chair
- If you will be needing support to use the chair
- How the chair will integrate with the environment and your other equipment
Objective assessment
More commonly known as the physical assessment, this is where we see what you and your body are able to do and what you might have more difficulty with. The seating assessors will look at the following:
- How stable your pelvis is
- Your range of movement, especially in your hips and knees
- If you are able to sit unsupported in an aligned position with good head control
- If you have any sensory or skin integrity problems
- Your measurements to determine the seat and chair dimensions
…BUT, did you know that we also rely on a pre-assessment to find your perfect seating system?
The success of the pre-assessment will ensure our seating assessors have all the information they need before they even meet you in person. We have a range of chairs in a range of configurations in a range of sizes here at CareFlex so we need to tailor your assessment to you to make sure you get the most out of it!
Our seating assessors will need to know the following:
- What you expect from your new chair
- Your height and weight
- Your home situation, including access to your property
- Any significant postural or pressure problems
- How you will transfer in and out of the chair
It can really help to get your Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to get in contact with us. They can relay to us your postural and pressure care needs and your seating goals based on the holistic 24-hour postural management clinical assessment they may have completed with you.
If we know all of these things BEFORE your assessment it will mean our seating assessors can bring the most appropriate chairs and accessories to you. For example, if you have difficulty bending your hips then you may need a chair with back angle recline, if you have difficulty maintaining sitting balance then you may need lateral support, or if you have pressure areas then you may need a tilt-in-space function to help with pressure redistribution.
What happens after your assessment?
Your assessment will end with a prescription, which is an agreement on the most appropriate chair, and its set-up, that will meet the needs of everyone who will be using it. It may be necessary to add accessories or functions to improve positioning and pressure redistribution. Sometimes a bespoke modification via our tailored solutions service may be necessary for more complex seating challenges. We will send a written quotation, which can then be used to order the seating system.
