Scooter Assessments
Eve Wilson
Scooter assessments
used to be done by the physio routinely some years ago, and then it moved to a
‘site by site/physio by physio’ basis which we are now trying to streamline.
The bottom line is due to (essentially) liability risk for both the physio and
the site, and resident safety, all scooter assessments for residents who will be
using the scooter outside of the
facility must be completed by an Occupational Therapist. It is not
acceptable for a physio to complete this assessment as it requires cognitive
processing assessments that are specific to the OT’s assessment domains. Use of
scooters on roads and within the community setting holds risk to the resident
and people of the community in many aspects, needless to say that an ageing
person’s ability to maintain safe outdoor use of their scooter must be closely
monitored.
Scooter assessments for residents who are agreeable to only use the scooter indoors/within the confines of the facility are allowed to be assessed by the Physio alone… as the resident will use the vehicle within a supervised environment at all times.
It is the responsibility of the resident to ensure they have insurance on the scooter for all use – indoors or outdoors – at their cost.
They are great vehicles and work wonders in allowing a resident access to experiences that they may otherwise not be able to do, however we need to remember there is a huge element of danger and risk involved in their use, especially when out alone on them – they tip easily, are motorised and fast, and require great skill level and peripheral awareness to use.
Vivir can organise an OT assessment at cost of approx. $115 by an in-house OT. Historically this has been a cost the resident/family would cover, but if the facility are happy to then this is at your discretion. Alternatively, it can be achieved by an EPC referral generated by the resident’s GP, but not all OT’s will do these assessments on EPC referral due to the small billable payment.
I have attached here the scooter assessment and supporting documentation for your reference