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Report transcript in: Simple Design Improvements Make A Huge Difference
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Simple Design Improvements Make A Huge Difference
Please Report the Errrors?
OK.
There we go,
do it that way.
No,
that's it is.
I know.
That's OK.
Let me try
press.
I'm gonna have to pro prop just because my arms don't,
so.
Yeah.
OK.
Right,
I,
let me just see,
hopefully we can turn you round.
I think OK.
um,
can you turn your phone round,
will it?
Do you like 10?
Yes,
that's it.
That's perfect.
That's brilliant,
lovely,
lovely.
And I'll move my arms so they don't,
uh,
yeah.
Dominate.
OK,
so severe
arthritis in my right hip.
So,
which
increasingly immobilised me last year,
um,
and I used
a,
um,
I didn't use hospital equipment,
uh,
to help me get around.
I,
I used a,
a sort of foldable walking stick,
um,
which
was,
uh,
which kept me
reasonably mobile.
I also have,
uh,
something called myasthenia gravis,
which means I have weak.
Muscles,
so
that made the whole situation more difficult.
And then I had a hip replacement.
Um,
just before Christmas,
uh,
which has worked very well.
Um,
and I'm using sticks,
hospital sticks to get around.
And
they are,
they've been adjusted to my height,
which was great.
So
that's helped enormously,
um,
and,
um,
and on the whole,
they do the job.
Right.
And I probably need them for longer
than normal because
of the muscle weakness
which is
coming to play,
um,
and it's affecting the kind of my recovery,
but.
Sure,
sure.
OK,
so would you say that the um.
How,
so,
so basically this is temporary at the moment for you.
Um,
the equipment,
just to sort of clarify,
so the equipment that you've been offered
is working
quite well.
It's OK,
they're OK.
They are,
um,
it certainly gives me stability and help to
help me get around.
Um,
and they are,
um,
they're just,
their design is a bit basic,
I guess,
as you'd expect from a hospital stick.
So
they are not,
um,
helpful.
If I'm sitting,
if I get,
so I go into a meeting
and I need to put my stick somewhere
and
because they have flat handles,
Uh,
they,
they don't hook.
Yeah.
So
I,
I
therefore carefully balanced them on the wall and suddenly knocks them.
So I spent my entire life,
um,
with my sticks,
um,
falling to the ground and somebody needing to pick
them up because I still can't bend down.
So
that,
that is a major design fault,
I think,
in.
Um,
in the,
in the sticks,
and my daughter has this,
had
had had cancer and has cancer,
and she
needed a stick for balance after her chemo,
and it was in America and it's a nice curved handle.
Right.
So,
so much easier because you can hook them everywhere.
They stay stable and,
um,
there's an assumption with the sticks,
I think that you
You only use them,
that that that is your life using those sticks,
and,
and while you're doing that,
they're fine.
Um,
but if you,
if you try and do anything else,
I mean,
shopping,
if there's a case in point,
so push a shopping trolley,
I therefore don't need a stick.
But I need a stick to go and get the shopping trolley and take it back again.
And,
uh,
and they don't hook onto the trolley.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So,
they are,
that's my only complaint is,
is the,
is the design of the handle.
So the stick itself solid,
does the job fine,
doesn't fold up,
but that's all right.
Um,
And I very rarely use the folding function of me
this stick I'd had before I had the operation,
um,
but it's uh.
They are,
they're just
cumbersome,
that they,
they,
I spent my life dropping them
and people having to pick them up and they're very good about it,
but uh still.
Well,
you've sort of answered the questions I was gonna ask you next,
which is great because,
I mean,
you've you've described the challenges.
I was gonna ask you about challenges using the equipment.
And you've described the challenges
is,
um,
you know,
Of what you do with them when you're sitting down or you know,
you need something,
how do they?
And you've also answered the other question,
which was I was going to ask,
which was about how could they be improved upon because it's a nice curved handle.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um,
It's obvious that they haven't really thought about.
You,
no one's actually probably used them in the design,
have they,
to a certain extent they use them just in um.
In a in a design room,
you know,
where someone's hob,
you know,
pretending to hobble around.
You know,
but it's not about,
you know,
the life
going shopping,
getting in and out of the car,
all of those things is,
yeah.
So,
um.
If there's anything you'd like to say,
add further about any challenges that you've found using the equipment,
that would be good.
If there's anything else.
I don't,
I don't think so.
I mean,
they've really done the job.
They've,
they've helped me get around the house.
They've helped me get in and get out,
um,
and they give me confidence as well.
Um,
I'm moving from two sticks to one stick,
and that's very exciting.
Uh,
although there's always a challenge with one stick because it
it twist your spine slightly.
And,
and I have,
um,
I have.
Just because of the myocena,
I've got
poor,
poor mus muscular tension.
So,
um,
but,
um.
Uh,
and hopefully I will be with sticks
reasonably soon,
but,
um,
they are,
they have been,
I mean,
I'm,
you know,
I'm grateful to them,
um,
and,
and all that.
But yes,
you're right.
Somebody has not,
uh,
thought about,
um,
how you,
what you do,
what you do with them,
uh,
when you're not,
when you're not hobbling around.
So,
um.
Yeah.
When you're actually living your life,
when you're getting on with life.
And in terms of improvements,
um,
like I say,
you've said
about how you think it could be approved.
Is there anything else where you feel it could be they could be improved?
Oh,
not really.
I mean,
they're nice and solid,
and actually,
that's quite important.
Um,
you know,
they're chunky,
which
gives you some sense,
some sense of safety.
They are
adjustable,
so they were adjusted to my height by the physio.
And,
uh,
which means I've walk,
I walk straight rather than bent over,
which is a good thing.
Um,
and
it's just literally,
it's the,
it's the handle design,
which
would be so much better if it's,
uh,
if you were able to walk.
Yeah.
That's great.
OK,
um,
I'm just gonna
have a quick look at the,
make sure that I've covered everything.
I think I have.
Um.
Did you have any
um challenging
challenges accessing the equipment?
Um,
no,
no,
they sent me out with them.
I mean,
I had challenges accessing other,
uh,
actually talking of equipment.
I needed raised loose seats,
um,
and
those were not provided by the hospital.
We had to buy them.
Um,
so.
Uh,
I know.
I thought they would,
but because
the hip,
hip replacement was considered.
Elective
Uh,
my hospital wouldn't provide the loose seats.
I don't understand that.
I have to say,
but that that was the
That was the deal.
Right.
That's quite.
Interesting,
isn't it?
It is expensive.
Was it expensive?
No,
I mean,
not huge,
about 10 pounds
loose heat and we bought 21 for upstairs,
one for downstairs,
and
they
Perfectly
beautifully adapted to their role,
so they've been great.
um,
but the,
no,
I was surprised.
I it was all to do with the fact it was elective and whether
you consider it elective to,
you know,
you either live with it in in enormous pain and
with limited mobility with a severely degraded right hip,
or you have a hip replacement.
Um,
so whether you consider that elective,
I,
I would question,
but,
um,
no,
I,
they didn't provide them,
but they did
send me off with the sticks,
so I had no problem with that.
Yeah,
yeah.
It's just strange though,
isn't it?
Because obviously,
getting up and down to go to the toilet,
you know,
it's,
it's potentially when you could fall.
It is,
it is,
and
it also,
you're supposed to be,
you're not supposed to,
um,
with a,
with a hip replacement,
you're not supposed to,
you're supposed to have a,
um,
a 90 degree angle and not less.
Well,
on a low loose seat,
you're less than 90 degrees.
Yes,
yes.
So it was silly,
um,
I thought,
but,
you know.
We were,
we went off to
the local.
Mobility store and bought some blue seats,
so,
uh,
yeah,
and have kept them
on the basis that we're gonna get crumble so we might as
well have them in stock in case we need them again,
so.
Good idea.
Mm.
Thank you so much,
Shan.
It's a pleasure.
It's always a pleasure.
Is there anything else you'd like to add to about equipment and using it?
No,
no,
I mean,
I think,
I think it's been
pretty straightforward.
It was just,
as you say,
somebody.
Who uses sticks was not involved in the design.
Um,
and therefore wasn't thinking about,
you know,
what do I do when I go into a meeting and I need to neatly
loop my stick somewhere rather than either laying it flat over three chairs or,
um,
having it knocked over every,
every 2 minutes.
So,
yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
OK.
That's lovely.
Thank you so much,
Shaun.
Uh,
Sean,
I will stop
and record.
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