Mobilising to aid disabled

Promobility’s Sandra Jones and Jason Hodgkinson

A TEAM which helps people with mobility problems go about their daily life has been nominated for a Pride in Oldham award.

Oldham-based Promobility provides vital help for people who would otherwise struggle to perform tasks most of us take for granted.

It loans out motorised scooters and wheelchairs for people to get around Oldham town centre, and links with a community transport dial-a-ride scheme, which picks people up from their own homes.

It collects people to take to the Promobility office so they can use a scooter or wheelchair, and also picks them up from home to take them where they want to go — be it shopping, for hospital appointments or for a social occasion, such as a visit to Gallery Oldham.

William Whittaker, from Hollins, is a regular user of Promobility, and made the nomination to say thank-you for the difference it has made to his life.

He said: “It has a perfect reception, and on leaving they make me feel very important.”

Sandra Jones, who runs the service based on St Mary’s Way, near the market car park, said it was a lifeline for many.

She said that up to 250 people a month used the service, without which many would rarely leave their home or have anyone to talk to.

“I love my job, and we have a lot of regulars we get to know,” she said.

“People give us a pip or a ring when they arrive on the car park so we can take the scooters out for them to get straight into from their car, and we also meet people off the bus and go back to the bus stop with them when they are ready to go home.”

Sandra said of the nomination: “We often get a box of chocolates or a card, but you never expect to be nominated for something like this. It’s lovely.”