Arthritis News Review - March 2012
We could not have been more thrilled with the above review in the Arthritis News magazine. As a direct result of this review we developed our new Huggerug with Waterproof Pocket. The waterproof pocket is designed to fit a laptop or notebook up to 15.5", it's also a perfect place to store keys, purse or a pair of cold hands! Priced at only £30 it's available in Red with Navy pocket or Yellow with Black Pocket. Check it out in the 'Huggerug' section on the top tool bar. Thank you to Arthritis News for helping us to spread the word.
Care homes welcome innovative non slip wheelchair rug
Carers looking after wheelchair users and people with mobility problems have welcomed an innovative product designed to tackle the problems experienced by slipping blankets.
The Huggerug is an ingenious creation designed by a former care home manager whose business, Assisted Living Clothing, aims to help people with mobility problems and their carers find comfortable, stylish clothes which are easy to use. The Huggerug has already found a number of fans from within the care industry – and anticipates the band of followers will grow as news of its simple yet effective design gets around.
The Huggerug combines the warmth advantages of a blanket with the cosiness of a fleece and its practical poppered fastenings mean it won’t slip off.
One fan is Nurse Sue Curry who runs The Manor House residential home in Seaton, Devon. “The Huggerug is extremely well made and is very reasonably priced. It is light but warm, looks attractive and is easy to put on. The design ensures that the bottom of the rug doesn’t flap around and get caught in the wheels of the wheelchair as ordinary blankets can,” explained Sue.
Jayne Cann, manager at Rose Lawn Care Home in Sidmouth is another convert. "We bought two Huggerugs for our residents’ use. We have found them easy to fit, and our residents are kept warm and cosy without the worry of blankets getting caught in the wheels. A great buy.”
Ann Lomas set up Assisted Living Clothing after struggling to find suitable clothes for her partner’s 89-year-old mother Betty Hunt who has late stage Alzheimer’s. As well as clothes, Ann came up with the idea of a rug which couldn’t slip off after spending a holiday with her sister-in-law Anne Overend who was partially paralysed in an accident ten years ago and relies on a wheelchair and her husband Bill’s full time care.
“Bill's devotion and total dedication to Anne's welfare is amazing. I designed the Huggerug after visiting them for a holiday when Anne found the sea breeze on the North East coast just too cold. We tried putting a car blanket around her and it kept falling off and I was worried that it would get caught up in the wheels of the wheelchair. A few months later I designed the Huggerug.
Betty’s daughter Jackie Pendergast said the rugs were a godsend for the care home where Betty lives.
“Carers at the home often have to take residents to hospital for appointments or check ups. Because many of them have mobility problems it’s very difficult to put coats or cardis on them as the arms are too tight. Blankets can slip off and get tangled in the wheels of their wheelchairs.
The Huggerug keeps them cosy without any of the problems associated with alternative means of keeping them warm.”
The Huggerug is already being stocked by mobility centres in the south west, where the company is based, and Ann is expecting others across the UK to start adding it to their shelves soon.
Madge Parsons who lives at The Manor House Residential Home, in Seaton Devon is one of the growing number of people finding the Huggerug a comfortable hassle free alternative to a traditional blanket
Press release 16th September 2011
Struggle to help elderly relative sparks new clothing business for people
with mobility problems
A struggle to find smart comfortable clothes for an elderly relative with mobility problems has inspired a former care home manager to launch a Europe-wide business aimed at helping people with mobility problems.
Ann Lomas, who has worked in the care industry for 25 years, launched Assisted Living Clothing this autumn after conducting research into the needs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s sufferers and others with mobility problems and gleaning detailed feedback from care workers and family members.
Ann’s partner’s 89-year–old mother Betty Hunt, who suffers from Alzheimer’s and has had a series of mini strokes, is the inspiration for the business – and the problems Ann and her sister in law Jackie experienced trying to find clothes for her are the seed which spawned what is set to become a successful enterprise.
Ann, who lives in the West Country where all the clothes are made, runs the business with her two daughters Ruth and Anita and has already seen orders from local nursing homes whose staff say the clothes not only look fantastic but also are easy for their residents to wear.
Ann’s sister in law Jackie Pendergast explained how the frustrations and upset the pair experienced trying to find suitable clothes for Betty evolved into a company which should save other people from suffering similar problems with their elderly relatives.
“My mum has always loved wearing beautiful clothes and was always very
smartly dressed. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was 70 – although she was just very forgetful at that stage - and moved into a home at 79 after a stroke,” said Jackie.
“In 2007 she had a series of mini strokes and went from being able to walk with two carers to not being able to move. She lost her ability to speak and to eat properly. Because she can’t move she’s very rigid in the arms so it was very difficult to dress her. At first I bought her clothes which were a couple of sizes too big. They had to open all the way from top to bottom but the continual tugging to get them on
made the button holes too large. I then asked a dressmaker to design some clothes with more access around the armholes. The dresses were beautiful but didn’t work.
“At this point Ann came to visit and I explained the problems. She took the dresses away with her, adapted them by making the armholes bigger and creating a sleeve which flapped over the arm. Ann also designed a dress pattern which incorporated sleeves without armhole seams.
“She sent them to me along with a questionnaire for me to give to the carers so they could give their feedback and Ann could make any necessary adjustments.
“The staff at my mum’s home say the dresses are excellent and easy to manoeuvre. They are also made from fabric which is easy to wash and doesn’t need ironing and which is
comfortable to wear. They need to be stretchy enough that the carer can help the wearer dress while still being stylish. Often with a condition like Alzheimer’s dignity is the last thing we can hang onto.
“We had a similar problem with nightdresses. Some of the ladies in my mum’s care home had nightdresses which opened at the back which is not very dignified. Again, Ann set to work and came up with a crossover and tie nightdress which is easy for the carers to use,
comfortable for my mum and looks lovely.
“Ann needed to take into account too things like the fact that if people have had a stroke or have Alzheimer’s or mobility problems there can’t be any fastenings which the wearer will sit on or lean against as they could cause bed sores or friction burns.”
The staff’s enthusiasm for the dresses, nightdresses and bed jackets Ann made for Betty inspired her to create Assisted Living Clothing so she could help thousands of people in
similar circumstances.
Ann explained: “Betty’s problems are echoed across the country and the world. There must be other people out there despairing of finding anything suitable.”
Ann is looking into setting up focus groups with local organisations which provide services to older people and will be asking members to trial new designs and provide her with feedback so the clothes can be adapted if necessary before they go on the market. The sessions will double up as social occasions for retired people so provide an additional service too.
“We’re passionate about helping enhance the lives of our customers and their care givers so they don’t have to go through the hoops we did,” she added.
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Picture 1 -
Betty Hunt is the inspiration for assisted Living Clothing. The struggle to find her suitable dresses inspired daughter-in-law Ann Lomas to say “we can do better”.
Picture 2 -
Ann Lomas set up Assisted Living Clothing after struggling to find suitable clothes for her mother in law who suffers from Alzheimer’s and has had a series of mini strokes.
For more information visit http://www.assistedlivingclothing.co.uk.
For further information on this press release call Assisted Living press
officer Helen Salisbury on 01926 495425 or 07966 167269 or at Helensalisbury@btconnect.com. For product information call Ann Lomas
on 01297 24478.
Assisted Living Clothing backs Dementia Awareness Day
Assisted Living Clothing is backing a national dementia awareness event being organised by a Devon Alzheimer’s sufferer and is urging people to sign up to a Facebook campaign.
Dementia Awareness Day on Saturday September 20 has been launched by Norman McNamara, aka Norms, and has won the backing of the Alzheimer’s Society which is urging people to show their support for the initiative by signing up to the DAD Facebook cause page.
Norms, 53, has early onset Alzheimer’s and blogs about the condition, posts on the Alzheimer’s Society Facebook Page and volunteers with his wife Elaine at the Society’s Memory Cafe in Torbay.
Ann Lomas from Assisted Living Clothing, which designs clothes for people with mobility problems, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, has added her voice to the campaign.
“This is a fantastic way to help raise awareness of a condition which is affecting a growing number of people. We work closely with the relations of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and their condition and the impact it has on their lives and those of their loved ones is one of the reasons we decided to set up our business. Norms is only in the early stages of the condition but his frank insight into the problems it causes him is not only helpful to other people it is a valuable way of raising awareness of the condition and of showing how “normal” a fact of life it is becoming in our aging society.”
Around 750,000 people currently suffer from some form of dementia in this country, with the Alzheimer’s Society predicting it will hit the million mark in ten years time and 1.7m by 2051. The condition currently costs the UK economy around £17 billion a year with that figure forecast to increase to a staggering £50 billion in thirty years time.
A condition which affects around twice as many women as men, dementia mainly affects the over 65s – with one in 20 people of that age likely to have the condition. By the time they reach eighty it affects 20% of the population. In rare cases it can affect people as young as 40 and around 15,000 dementia sufferers are under the age of 65.
Norms’ campaign follows the recent announcement by veteran country star Glen Campbell that he is suffering from the condition which is forcing him to step down from his 40 year career.
To read more about Norm and Dementia Awareness Day click on the BBC link below: