LCH hosts ‘Strictly Wheelchair Dancing’ for International Wheelchair Day

Liverpool Wheelchair Service hosted a special ‘Strictly Wheelchair Dancing’ event as part of International Wheelchair Day on Saturday 1 March.

International Wheelchair Day is an annual awareness day which aims to raise greater awareness of issues of accessibility for wheelchair users, as well as celebrating the difference that having a wheelchair has made to the lives of so many people around the world.

The event took place at Greenbank Sports Academy with wheelchair dancing sessions led by Strictly Wheelchair Dancing, a charity group based in Manchester which runs wheelchair ballroom dance groups for all ages and abilities.

As part of the event, a wheelchair skills session and a series of health information stalls offering advice on healthy living were also provided by Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust.

The event was attended wheelchair service users from across the city, their family and carers, and it was completely free to attend, thanks to support from event sponsors Sunrise Medical and Invacare, two leading UK wheelchair manufacture and distribution companies.

Christine McGhee explains, Clinical Operations Manager for Liverpool Wheelchair Service said:

“Liverpool Wheelchair Service supports around 10,500 adults and children who are wheelchair users from across Liverpool.

“We decided to host this event as a fun way to get together some of our service users and staff, in order to celebrate International Wheelchair Day and the huge difference that the wheelchair can make to individuals by improving their mobility, independence and overall quality of life.”

Throughout the event staff from Liverpool Wheelchair Service were also on hand to offer ‘on-the-spot’ wheelchair pressure cushion checks to help ensure they were correctly adjusted to support them, and in order to minimise the risk of sores or pressure ulcers developing.

She added, “We also wanted to inspire our service users to explore ways they can stay active despite their mobility issues, and hopefully avoid some of the common health issues associated with a very sedentary lifestyle such as the risk of becoming overweight or of developing painful pressure ulcers.”

Kathy Williams, Acting Clinical Lead for Liverpool Wheelchair Service added:

“This was an absolutely fantastic event. We all learned a lot about dancing and a great deal of fun was had by both our service users and staff alike.

“I also want to say a really big thank you to Strictly Wheelchair Dancing team for coming along to help us deliver the session, and to our two event sponsors, Sunrise Medical and Invacare for helping to make this event possible.

Image: Liverpool Wheelchair Service Team with Strictly Wheelchair Dancing