A rollator, wheelchair or mobility scooter after surgery, and which helps when

The hospital arranges the operation; what is needed at home afterwards is often left to you and your family. And at a moment when nobody has time to compare. This article puts the three aids side by side and says which usually fits which phase. Always ask your physiotherapist or the ward what applies to you; below is what we see in practice.

The first days: the rollator

Straight after an operation on the knee, hip or foot you usually practise with crutches or a rollator. A rollator gives support when walking and a seat to rest on. It weighs about 10 kilos, folds and fits in the car. For indoors and the first short stretches outside it is usually enough.

Renting costs €19.95 a week or €59.95 for four weeks.

The first weeks: the wheelchair

Anyone not yet allowed to bear weight, or wanting to get further than the letterbox, needs a wheelchair. Someone pushes, or you propel yourself with the rims. Our wheelchair folds, weighs 15.4 kilos and travels in the boot, so a visit to the physiotherapist or a birthday is possible again.

Renting costs €25.50 a week or €69.95 for four weeks; a weekend is €19.95.

Once you want to get out on your own: the mobility scooter

After a few weeks you are often allowed to sit and steer, but not yet to walk far. That is the moment for a mobility scooter: you are independent again, with nobody pushing. The disassembling scooter goes about 12 kilometres on a charge, enough for the shops, the GP and a lap of the park, and travels in sections in the car.

Renting costs €65.35 a week or €234.35 for four weeks. If recovery takes longer, you extend with one phone call and pay only for the extra days.

What is best arranged before discharge

• Ask the ward what you will need at home and for how long. The physiotherapist usually knows exactly.
• Book before you go home. With us that takes a few minutes online, also for a son or daughter, and the earliest delivery day is tomorrow. Then it is there when you get home.
• Choose the address where you will recover. At home, with family or in a care hotel: we deliver to any address in the Netherlands and carry it in.
• Think about the door and the threshold. A wheelchair is 60 to 70 centimetres wide; measure whether it fits through the narrowest door. We look with you at delivery.

Needed longer than expected?

That happens often. Extending is always possible, and you do not bring anything back: the aid simply stays with you. Done? Then we collect it on the agreed day.

See the rollator, the wheelchair and the scooters, with the price for your dates, or call us if you are unsure which fits.