Shared wheelchairs launched in Beijing hospital

Beijing Friendship Hospital has released shared wheelchairs for the patients as part of its efforts to improve the services at the hospital, Beijing Daily reported.

Similar to shared bikes, the shared wheelchairs have QR codes which patients can scan with their smartphones. 

A photo taken on December 6, 2017, shows shared wheelchairs at Beijing Friendship Hospital. [Photo: VCG]

To use the wheelchairs, patients must first complete real name verification through the WeChat social media app and then pay a deposit of 99 yuan (around 15 USD) in the shared wheelchair app.

Patients can then unlock a wheelchair and use it for free for the first three hours. They can then pay 1 yuan for every additional 10 minutes. When returning the wheelchairs, users need to place them in the original location and lock them before completing the rental using the app.

Users can request their deposit be refunded through the app, and the money will take 10 working days to be returned.

The hospital said each patient can only use one wheelchair at a time and they should return them after use or the deposit will not be refunded.

Currently, 20 shared wheelchairs are available for use in the hospital's outpatient department.