Red Cross Blogs

Worthing’s wheel deal

By Alix Miller
October 20, 2009 at 5:13 pm

What do Victoria station and Rustington beach, Worthing have in common? You’ll never guess.

It turns out they are both places where British Red Cross wheelchairs have been found abandoned, minus their users, but their barcodes intact, years after being loaned to people from our Worthing equipment loan centre. Yes, our wheelchairs do get about – one of them has even travelled on the QE2…with its user, I hasten to add.

I found out this interesting nugget and others over a cup of tea with Elaine Chapman, service manager and Janet Chapman (no relation), centre organiser, while visiting our Worthing equipment centre last week. The centre is a hub of activity serving people living in Shoreham, Bognor and Chichester.

Many people are unaware of our equipment loan service but it’s a vital one, helping tens of thousands of people every year.  Through short-term loans of things like wheelchairs and much more, the service helps people who have experienced illness or surgery regain their independence.

Janet, together with her team of dedicated volunteers, has been running the Worthing centre for 15 years and has seen all sorts of people come through her doors from kids to the elderly. They either hear about the service independently or are referred by the NHS or other statutory bodies.

She said: “People come from miles around and are always surprised at the immediacy and availability of the service. Both young and old can come straight in, without a referral and often take away the equipment they need the same day. Otherwise we can deliver to them within 48 hours.”

“I think what makes our service so different from that offered by commercial medical equipment companies is the fact it’s truly holistic,” she added.

A member of the team might deliver a wheelchair to an elderly person’s home, for example. Here they can not only assess its suitability and fit to the person using it, but also whether they need any other help. Then they can link them up to our care in the home, transport and therapeutic care services, if necessary. 

But, as with all our services, it’s not always just about meeting a practical need. Elaine told me about the time a terminally ill woman had borrowed a wheelchair. The end of the agreed loan period arrived and the woman’s angst-ridden daughter contacted Elaine to explain how even though her mother would never be able to use the wheelchair again, she refused to allow it to be taken away; its presence by her bed gave her a sense of hope. Elaine reassured the woman she could keep the wheelchair as long as she needed it.

Another regular user is a business bigwig. Each year he borrows a wheelchair for a few months and makes a donation of £150 in return. The usual suggested donation for a short-term wheelchair loan is just £35 for eight weeks (compared to around £7 per day from a commercial company) but his generosity represents one brand new wheelchair for the centre each year. Those on very tight budgets, incidentally, can borrow equipment without paying anything.

Each piece of medical equipment we loan out can make a huge difference so someone’s life. For the many children with breaks and sprains, a wheelchair or set of crutches might mean they can get in to school rather than missing weeks of lessons. For others it simply means they can get about more easily.

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Tags: care in the home, medical equipment, Therapeutic Care, transport service

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