As part of its commitment to holistic rehabilitation, CRP produces a wide range of wheeled or non-wheeled mobility and assistive devices. A metal workshop produces three models of wheelchairs which have been specially designed for local conditions. A model of tricycle with detachable front wheel is also produced. One of the wheelchair designs is called the "low trolley" which enables users to participate in tasks like cooking or laundry washing which take place at ground level in rural Bangladesh. All items are made with low-cost, locally available materials to ensure that, should something go wrong, it can be repaired quickly with minimum outlay. The designs are very sturdy and thus able to withstand the uneven conditions often found in Bangladesh. Walking frames standing frames, back slabs and special stryker frame beds are among other items made in the metal workshop.
Adjacent to the metal workshop is CRP's special seating unit which provides assessment and specialised seating for disabled children. Some seating units are also produced for adults. The seats aim to enable the user to maintain his or her seating posture which improves breathing, swallowing and the development of fine motor skills. Three sizes of special seat are produced for children. Each user is first assessed by a qualified occupational therapist after which the seat is made to each child's exact requirements. Follow-up ensures that as each child grows, the seat is suitably modified.
A British based charity, Motivation, provided invaluable assistance and training in the design and production of special seating units and mobility aids.
One of the newer medical divisions at CRP Savar is the Prosthetic and Orthotics (P/O) department.
The department was set up in 2005, but it has taken a number of years to get it up to full speed. This was due to CRP awaiting the return of the staff that had been sent to India to be trained in Prosthetics and Orthotics, they now have returned in the last year (2008).
The department was set up with the technical and financial support of the International Committee of the Red Cross – Special Fund for the Disabled (ICRC – SFD) with modern instruments and materials. This allows the department to manufacture a wide range of Orthoses, from the simple arch support-to-support fallen arches in the feet, to the more complication of bilateral jointed KAFOs (calipers) to allow person with disabilities to stand and walk.
In Prostheses they manufacture from partial feet, below knee artificial limb to the complex above knee amputation replacement prosthesis.
The department sees a wide range of disabilities especially children with club feet, CP, congenital disabilities and teenagers that have been affected by Polio as a child.
Many of the amputations of the lower limb are due to the high incident of (RTA) road traffic accidents and accidents at work due to the appalling health and safety at work record the country has.
The department is a vital link in the rehabilitation of the disabled person at CRP and works closely with the Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and medical departments in achieving this goal.
In the near future we are going to set up a Prosthetic and Orthotics satellite clinic at CRP Mirpur, as at the moment the patients have transport and financial problems getting to Savar for this service.
The setting up and starting of the first Prosthetic and Orthotics training course in Bangladesh, this we hope will happen in 2010.