Beach Wheelchairs Bring Joy to Care Home Residents

On Thursday 4 August Edensor Care Home residents from Clacton-on-Sea spent a day at the beach thanks to specially adapted beach wheelchairs.

On Thursday 4 August, Diagrama Foundation’s Edensor Care Home in Clacton-on-Sea took six of their residents to enjoy a day by the sea with two specially adapted wheelchairs which allow users to go on to the sand and into the water.

Wanting to share the experience with others the Edensor team invited local Mamora care home to join them and were delighted when they accepted and brought two of their residents to the seafront to try the chairs.

 

Muhammed Neeliyath, Registered Manager, Edensor Care Centre, said, “We bought our beach wheelchairs last year thanks to donations from Colchester Catalyst Charity and Pickering Electronics Ltd and they have made such a huge difference to the lives of our residents who use wheelchairs. Traditional wheelchairs are wholly unsuitable for the sand so having the special beach wheelchairs means that we can take  our residents on to the sand and into the water. One of our residents said to us, ‘I love doing this as I feel like a child again’ which is so wonderful for the care team to hear.”

The weather was perfect for the day out and everyone enjoyed a picnic and  ice cream in the warm sunshine while the residents took it in turns to go on the beach and into the sea.

Muhammed Neeliyath continued, “We currently do not have enough storage space for our beach wheelchairs, and unfortunately, we have to dismantle them and rebuild them every time we want to use them. We would love a shed with  enough  room to store the assembled chairs. Being able to store them made up  rather than in sections would allow us to use them more frequently without the hour it takes us  to build them each time we want to go to the beach.”

If you can provide Edensor with a shed that they can erect at the care home to store their beach wheelchairs,  please contact fundraising@diagrama.org or call Edensor on 01255 423317.

About Diagrama Foundation

Diagrama Foundation is a Kent based charity that supports vulnerable children, young people, and adults to live their best life.

Diagrama has a Supported Living Service across Bromley, three homes for adults with learning disabilities in Orpington, a 50-bed care home for the elderly with nursing and dementia needs in Essex, and a fostering and adoption service covering the southeast.

  • The Supported Living Service, cares for 35 adults with learning disabilities, in nine homes across Bromley helping them to develop skills and confidence to live in their own house either on their own or with others.
  • At Cabrini House in Orpington the charity promotes the development of core skills for adults with learning disabilities so that they can lead independent lives integrated within their community.
  • The team at their nursing and dementia care home Edensor in Clacton on Sea, support their vulnerable residents to live life to the full.
  • Diagrama’s adoption and fostering service cares for children in South London, Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, and Surrey.

Many vulnerable children and adults don’t get the support they need to develop their true potential, but the Diagrama team know that when someone has time and belief invested in  them, they come alive, because that investment has made them feel valued and worthy.

www.diagramafoundation.org.uk