RESIDENTS at Woffington House in Tredegar were among the first to try out new multicoloured zimmer frames as part of a pilot programme from Aneurin Bevan Health Board.
The scheme is being trialled to try and reduce the number of falls suffered by elderly patients with dementia.
Claire Jordan, lead nurse in patient engagement and education at Aneurin Bevan Health Board, said that she is hoping the trial will be expanded across the county.
Claire Jordan, lead nurse in patient engagement and education at Aneurin Bevan Health Board.
“Zimmer frames have always traditionally come in grey, and for people living with dementia or for people who have visual impairment, it is hard for them to see the colour grey," she said.
“By personalising them it is making them visible and reducing the risk of falling.
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“What we then wanted to do was to have them manufactured in colours already, so that people can choose the colours of their own and still personalise them if they wanted to, but it gave them the option to then have that coloured frame that would be visible and reduce the risk of falling.
“Once we have piloted that we will be evaluating the outcomes and hopefully that will demonstrate that they have made a difference.
“If they do then that research can be rolled out and shared and we would hope that people would start to think about manufacturing colourful zimmer frames rather than just the grey ones.”
Woffington House resident Tom Brown trying out his new coloured zimmer frame.
The project is being trialled across the whole Aneurin Bevan Health Board, with 500 coloured walkers being distributed across hospital wards and care homes.
Gwent Police cadets, who regularly visit residents at Woffington House as part of a cross-generational initiative from Ffrind i Mi, joined the residents at the launch, along with one of the zimmer frames which they had decorated.
Two other zimmer frames had been decorated by local schoolchildren.
Adam Hesselden, care home manager at Woffington House, said that they have already seen an impact since partnering with the Pimp My Zimmer programme.
“We learnt about the benefits of having different coloured frames at an event held by the Health Board,” Mr Hesselden said.
“We then worked with schoolchildren to decorate some of the frames.
The new coloured zimmer frames which are being trialled to help reduce falls.
“We found that the residents were taking ownership of these decorated frames.
“Since we started working with the 'Pimp My Zimmer' campaign, our calls to the Welsh Ambulance Service for falls have gone down 29 per cent.”
Woffington House resident Flo Hall is looking forward to using the new coloured zimmer frames.
“They are excellent,” she said. “They are lovely colours. You will be able to see them in the evenings as well.
“The pink one is my favourite. Grey is too much like the background so it will be better having these new ones.”
Lee LeBrocq, from the zimmer frame manufacturers Roma Medical, said: “We are very privileged to be involved, and to be part of pilot study to help prevent falls.”
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