Like anything wheeled, the type of wheels alone can make terrain navigation much more easy or entirely hellish. I suspect most hospital wheelchairs are optimized for being cheap, including having cheap wheels that do fine on the smooth polished floors of hospitals, and ok-enough for brief journeys (often pushed by someone) just outside to a waiting vehicle, but are not appropriate for going across the street or even at a home with carpet.
My grandpa had a few wheelchairs, me and my cousins would try them out / have fun going up and down the ramp to the house door. They had better wheels (needed for lots of picnics outside on grass, or down the stairs in the basement), the difficulty was mainly a matter of strength, not getting stuck on something seemingly innocuous. (Though you do learn pretty fast I think when you should go over something back-wheels first, either by necessity or just to make things a lot easier.) I remember even as a late teen pushing him up some steeper rough grass though, it could be pretty tough. He wheeled himself around most of the time, he had good arm strength as long as I knew him. I remember getting grabbed by him once too (in trouble for something, what I don't remember) and knowing I wouldn't be able to get away.
My grandpa had a few wheelchairs, me and my cousins would try them out / have fun going up and down the ramp to the house door. They had better wheels (needed for lots of picnics outside on grass, or down the stairs in the basement), the difficulty was mainly a matter of strength, not getting stuck on something seemingly innocuous. (Though you do learn pretty fast I think when you should go over something back-wheels first, either by necessity or just to make things a lot easier.) I remember even as a late teen pushing him up some steeper rough grass though, it could be pretty tough. He wheeled himself around most of the time, he had good arm strength as long as I knew him. I remember getting grabbed by him once too (in trouble for something, what I don't remember) and knowing I wouldn't be able to get away.