Carer designs mobility aid clip to help identify care home residents

Elderly care home residents and people with dementia will find it easier to identify both themselves and their mobility aids thanks to a clever creation by a senior carer.

Adeline Dalley with one of her designs

Adeline Dalley, who lives in Warminster, has designed Mediclipz – an invention which can be attached to the tubing of zimmer frames, wheelchairs and walking sticks, providing vital contact and medical details of the owner, as well as allergies and care home room number.

Speaking about her product, Mrs Dalley said: “They are special clips I’m making and they go over the mobility aid tubing.

“It’s to get away from that horrible sticky-taped numbers they use in care homes. It’s very secure and I’ve got specially designed labels that go over them. They are either in white or yellow. Yellow is the last colour that fades from memory so if you go into a dementia care home you will find that the toilet doors are yellow and that’s for that reason.

“The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is always looking at how homes are not making things too institutionalized. Rather than having the standard horrible paper name and sticky tape looking exactly the same on everyone’s mobility aids, my design gives the option to have personal designs in black and white with their names. I have just done two for a lady in the community with a dove on and her allergy.”

Mrs Dalley has recently started working at Rossetti House, in Frome, where her Mediclipz have been well received. Gracewell Healthcare, which owns the home, has already placed an order for some clips, making it the first chain in the country to invest in the new design. Rossetti House manager Mark Barnes said: “I think it’s fantastic, very innovative and it demonstrates real dignity for our clients and residents around their mobility aids.

“It’s a clear identification, especially with the colouring which is a dementia model. The most important thing is the dignified approach to this. It is much better than a flappy bit of paper. I really like it and I really support it.”

Mediclipz are £9 each and £1 from each one sold is donated to Alzheimer’s Support in Trowbridge.

To find out more about Mediclipz, visit www.adzcreations.com.