Do you need help with Incontinence?

This entry was posted in General May 19, 2020

Incontinence is something that affects many of us, and is a lot more common than you may think. It isn’t a subject many of us want to think or talk about but finding help with incontinence with the correct support and advice is key. 

As many as 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men will experience some form of incontinence at some stage in their lives. There really isn’t any reason to be embarrassed about it, as often it cannot be helped but if you are having problems you are not alone as we probably all know someone affected, even if we don’t realise it. Living with incontinence of any kind can be worrying but there are people available to offer help and guidance.

There are different types of incontinence, and they can vary in severity, with some people being mildly affected, whilst others live with complete loss of control. Remember you are not alone, there are services available that can help and offer advice for managing your needs.

Seek medical advice for incontinence if you are worried

If you are worried you should initially contact your GP, they are there to help. Your Doctor will be able to offer an initial assessment so they can understand the problems you are experiencing. If needed your GP should be able to connect you with your local continence care team for further guidance and advice.

There is a wide range of products available with many disposable and reusable options available. Solutions includes pads, pants, seat and bed covers, including mattress protectors. There is also a wide range of skincare and toileting solutions should you need them.  

Understanding your own requirements and the options you have can be a big step in living with incontinence. If you are mildly affected and can manage your needs there is no reason why it should disrupt your normal routine, and many people do continue to live with minimal inconvenience.

Find the right continence care product for your needs 

Once you understand the options available to you, you need to ensure you find the right product to suit your needs. There are a large variety of brands available however we would suggest trailing them as best you can to ensure you find one suitable for your requirements. The wrong product or poor-quality products, not only don’t work well but could end up being costly as you may need to use more of them. It is easy to buy continence pads but it’s not so easy finding the right ones.

Our teams are here to help you and we can offer free samples of our continence care products so you can try them in the comfort of your own home. We can also offer free advice and guidance on suitable products for your specific requirements to help you understand the options. Our team members are fully trained by Abena Nurses and Continence Professionals, so they can help you discreetly with any questions you may be worried about. You can also find more information on our Incontinence Guide

Find your nearest Ableworld store click here

 

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Exciting plans for New Ableworld stores Coming Soon!

This entry was posted in General April 27, 2020

We are extremely excited to announce that we are planning to open 3 new mobility stores by Autumn 2020, so you may have a new mobility superstore coming to a town near you very soon. Here at Ableworld we are committed to helping customers remain independent and provide affordable mobility equipment and a no pressure approach when helping our customers find the right equipment. We are really pleased that our 3 new stores will mean we can help more customers around the UK.

We are expanding on the South Coast of England with a new store in Blackfield, Hampshire. 

This store is a second store for one of our existing business partners, who already own Ableworld Southampton, across the water. The new store, next to Tesco express will stock the whole Ableworld mobility range as well being able to install, service and repair Stairlifts and through the floor Home Lifts that Ableworld Southampton offer. Owners Steven and Jeff commented, “We are really excited about our new store. We have a fantastic Company with lots of strengths including a strong and loyal team of staff. Our new store is currently being refurbished, hopefully with a view to be able to open very soon.”

As well as a new store in the South, we are also opening another store on the outskirts of Manchester, in Hyde. This store is with Business Partner Barry Pearson, who is adding a 6th Ableworld Mobility store to his existing 5 stores in St Helens, Salford, Wigan, Wavertree and Southport. The new store is located on a retail park alongside B&M and a Food Warehouse, part of the Iceland group. The large store will, again, stock the whole Ableworld range of mobility equipment, as well as offering free advice from a team of fully trained staff. Located not far from our Stockport store, we have a team of friendly, local engineers supporting the area for any Stairlift requirements including repairs, installations, servicing and Buy back options. Our stairlift team provide free advice and quotes with no obligation to purchase. We will now be able to offer assistance to more people in Manchester helping them to remain independent in the home they love. 

As well as some of our existing business partners expanding in their communities, we are also very pleased to welcome a new partner to Ableworld. We are still waiting for the property to complete the legal process, before we announce the actual location, but we are confident this will be finalised soon on a property in East London. We are really excited for our first store in the London area and hope it will be the first of many. As always within London, finding the right property at the right price is always a challenge but we have found a suitable store, in a great location. The new store will stock the majority of the Ableworld range for customers to browse offering a wider variety of mobility aids than any other mobility retailer in the area. Our new store will also have fully trained engineers able to install, service and repair stairlifts, as well as mobility scooters, wheelchairs and other equipment.

It is a challenging time at the moment and we hope as much as everyone else that things will improve soon. Our aim as always is to help as many people as possible to remain independent and we are committed in continuing to support as many people as we can. We will announce opening dates as soon as possible.

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Thank you!

This entry was posted in General April 23, 2020

Sometimes life moves so fast it is hard to stop and evaluate one moment in time. Coronavirus has impacted everyone’s lives more than anyone could ever have imagined but I am sure many of you will agree it has given a lot of people the opportunity to find that time to concentrate on the important things in their lives and keeping in touch with friends and family. 

As a company, we have also been lucky to be given this time, and it has highlighted a few key points we often think but don’t often have the time to say, so we want to take this opportunity to shout it from the rooftops.

We have an amazing team of dedicated staff working at Ableworld. Everyone has taken steps to help our Company through a situation we never could have planned for. We have a committed team of people still helping customers in stores. We also have a number of engineers, drivers and our specialist team who are working alongside people to ensure they get the correct mobility equipment safely. Supporting our stores are a reduced workforce at Head Office, ensuring customers can get the answers they need right now. To all of these people we want to express our gratitude for continuing – Thank you!

We have had to furlough a number of team members to ensure we can comply to the social distancing guidelines and also to guarantee the future of our business, we would also like to thank you for taking this option.

We are committed to our customers. Your happiness and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do and our staff are ensuring we continue to offer customers that support through the hardest of times.

We would also like to thank you, our customers. You have all been amazing. Not only are you staying in as we have been advised, you are keeping in touch and finding new ways of adapting to change, thank you.

We would like to say a huge thank you to our suppliers. The majority of our suppliers are still processing orders, ensuring we can get mobility equipment our customers need. They are picking up the telephone and checking in to make sure we are all OK, and are bending over backwards to offer as much help and support as they can, so we can help others – it really is appreciated, thank you.

As well as these, we want to offer our heart felt thank you out to everyone on the front line dealing with this pandemic. There are so many people who are selflessly looking after others to ensure we work together to fight this – you really are all superhero’s in everyone’s eyes!

We miss you all and will look forward to seeing you all as soon as we possibly can. In the mean time if there is anything, we can help you with please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your nearest store.

Stay safe and take care of each other!

Mike Williams. MD

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We are taking steps to help in the fight against Coronavirus

This entry was posted in General March 26, 2020

As a caring mobility retailer, we value all our customers and staff, and always want to provide the best possible support. In light of recent events we are taking our role very seriously and have had some lovely feedback from customers and health professionals who have thanked us for being available for essential items.

We want to ensure we take steps to help everyone during this period of uncertainty in order to protect as many people as we can.

We have therefore taken the decision to temporarily furlough some of our staff members and are continuing to operate our stores with minimum staff. We are keeping our stores operating as normally for the time being as much as a few people feel this is the wrong decision, we are helping people daily who live with incontinence and mobility problems. We are not operating in the hope people will pop in to browse and flout the instructions our Prime Minister has been very clear about, we are operating because we have to, to help other people.

We want, as much as everyone else to protect as many people as possible while also assisting our National Health Service take care of people who need it at this moment in time.

We are available to help either in store or via the store telephone number. We can take orders, offer advice and listen as we understand people can be worried, we just want to help as best we can.

Thank you for understanding

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We are OPEN and here to help during Coronavirus restrictions

This entry was posted in General March 24, 2020

At Ableworld we care deeply about our customers and our staff. Further to the announcement made last night by Boris Johnson, the country must follow tighter restrictions on isolating and social distancing in order to beat this virus. As we provide essential equipment to enable people to be discharged from hospital, provide equipment prescriptions and supply daily living aids such as continence products we have taken the decision to remain open in order to support our healthcare services. This isn’t because we don’t care about our staff, quite the opposite, we all understand that now is a time for the country to work together in order to beat this so we are taking our role very seriously.

The NHS are currently under a huge strain to beat this virus, and we want to help as many people safely return to their home so they can to help protect themselves from Coronavirus. Our services and products are essential to many people remaining within their own home and in many cases can help customers who may need to call on the NHS services during this busy period so we are trying our best to support everyone.

We support people to remain independent such as having stairlifts installed and repaired. We also provide walkers, wheelchairs and trolleys and other mobility equipment that can enable people to remain independent within their home.

We are taking advice from Public Health England on the best course of action for our customers and staff on a regular basis, to ensure we are protecting our team members and customers at all times

All of our stores are currently open and trading usual business hours. This may need to change but we will update regularly on our website and social media channels.

We are proud to be able to help where possible during this time. We hope you all stay safe, and if you think we can help in any way please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your nearest store, and one of our team members will be happy to help.

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Stay Active during Self Isolation

This entry was posted in General March 19, 2020

Coronavirus has impacted everyone in the world at an alarming rate but we are urging customers to try and maintain a routine during the uncertainty.

It is expected that by the end of the week, the Government will be advising the elderly and vulnerable people in the UK to self-isolate in order to protect themselves. We understand this may affect many of our customers and understand a change in routine can be worrying.

Self-isolation is being advised for your benefit and is trying to prevent you from catching Covid-19. This may mean you can’t socialise as you usually would, see friends or family, and even change the way you shop; however, all of these can be overcome in different ways.

We are urging customers and their families to think of ways to maintain some routine, for example if you would usually visit your family on a Sunday, can you arrange a video call? If you would usually do shopping on a Saturday, do you have someone who could help with this if you gave them a shopping list, and they could drop it off at your door for you?

We are also encouraging everyone to check regularly on loved ones. If you are a friend or family member of someone who is self-isolating please take the time to check on their well-being. Many people want help but are too afraid to ask, so let’s make sure they are OK, and socialise via telephone rather than face-to-face.

There is lots of ways to remain active during self-isolation, for example we have a range of exercise and therapy solutions to keep your body active while isolating, such as pedal exercisers, resistance bands and hand exercisers. It is recommended you stay within your home however you may go out to exercise so you could go for a walk or take your scooter out and enjoy some fresh air while maintaining social distancing recommendations (currently 2m/6ft from others). You could sit and watch the birds out of your window or listen to some music. If feasible and the weather improves enjoy getting out into your garden. You can also keep your mind busy by doing crosswords, reading, crafts or dust off an old jigsaw puzzle to enjoy.

We have recently updated our product catalogue, so if you would like something to read you can request a copy here, and we will post a copy to you.

As with any news in the UK and around the world, the media don’t always report the truth so we would advise only watching the news as you usually would, maybe once a day. There are other things happening around the world and amongst the worry and uncertainty, good things are happening, so try not to focus on the negative statistics and keep your mind positive.

If you have any requirements for equipment during self-isolation please contact your nearest Ableworld store and they can talk through the options available.

#Staysafe #Stayactive #BeKind

 

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Are you eligible for a free smoke alarm?

This entry was posted in General February 14, 2020

In the UK there are roughly 37,000 house fires a year and approximately 200 fire-related deaths. The majority of these occur within the home between 10pm and 6am when people are asleep. When you are asleep your sense of smell decreases to almost non-existent. Older people may be particularly at risk from fire due to health problems or reduced mobility. Approximately half of those killed by fires in the home are aged 65 or over.

Smoke alarms give you advance warning of fire, which results in giving you more time to react. With a working smoke alarm you are 4 times more likely to survive. This shows the importance of having a working smoke alarm in your home.

Many local fire services in the UK offer free smoke alarms, generally as part of a home visit to assess fire safety in your property. The eligibility criteria can differ between fire services, as some offer it to people who don't have them or if they have been installed in the wrong places. Whilst other fire services focus on those at higher risk of fire such as the homes of older or disabled people.

To check whether or not you are eligible to get a free smoke alarm installed in your home, you will need to request a ‘Safe and Well Visit’ with your local fire service either by phone or an online form that can be found on the website of your local fire service. If eligible, the visit is free of charge and you should expect it to take up to an hour. If they find that you need to have fire alarms installed, they may do it for free during their visit.

At Ableworld we genuinely care about the safety and well-being of our customers and always have their best interests at heart. We hope you find this information useful to help protect your home or the home of a loved one.

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