Successful Seating Seminar!

On Tuesday 27th November local occupational therapists and physiotherapists descended onto our office here in Sheffield to be part of an active seating seminar. It was a very successful day with our local healthcare professionals hearing about the benefits of active seating and good posture from two speakers and Kingkraft's very own Paediatric Physiotherapist, Sue King all whilst tucking into a bacon butty!

Nottingham City Council Social Services employees Katie Marsden, Head of Paediatric Occupational Therapy, and Esme Hobbs, Senior Paeds OT, spoke about the importance of a good sitting posture, including a good head and pelvic position to enable the child to participate in activities within the classroom and home.

We also provided product demonstrations on our ergonomic and postural seating range which includes the MaditaFun, Vela Tango and Salsa, Hooki Stool and the PantoMove and Swing chair. This was to promote functional independence within the child's capabilities which is very important to Kingkraft.

"Seminar was well received and we hope to run a similar seminar in the new year on a much larger scale. We focused on local OTs but it would be great to have people coming from further afar which will help us to spread the message more."

Sue King, Kingkraft's Paediatric Physiotherapist

Kingkraft's trip to Denmark

At the end of November, Kingkraft's paediatric sales and marketing team were lucky enough to go to Denmark. Unfortunately though it wasn't for a holiday! Instead they attended an 'Inspiration Seminar' that was held by one of our suppliers, Protac. It is a yearly event that really benefits Kingkraft and in turn our customers as we learn all about new sensory techniques and products, bringing back to Sheffield a whole range of new ideas and projects.

"It is a great opportunity to visit Denmark and discuss the action plans for the forthcoming year with Protac and their other suppliers. We have more in-depth training on the products and come back to the UK more knowledgeable than ever!"

Sue King, Paediatric Physiotherapist

While there, the team visited a Snoezelen House to see a range of sensory equipment in action. It was not just beneficial for learning about the range but also great fun as they were able to get involved and test out the equipment themselves. (See pictures below, for the full photo album on the seminar please visit out Facebook page). There were lots of colourful lights and unusual objects but the enormous ball pool was our favourite! We just had to have a play around in the balls that inspired the Protac products.

The Snoezelen House is part of a village complex which the adult residents can use at any time with their carers. There are around eight rooms which cater for different sensory systems in order to create a calming and relaxing atmosphere which will help lower anxiety levels and in turn help with poor behavioural patterns. The different rooms included:

• A ball pit with lighting effects (to help with proprioceptive and tactile systems)
• A water bed with weighted blankets with projected images onto a wall (proprioceptive, tactile and visual)
• A dark cave (proprioceptive, tactile and visual)
• Interactive floor effects (visual)
• Swings, rocking chairs, balls and rollers (vestibular and proprioceptive)
• Relaxation rooms (smell, visual and auditory)

Attending the Inspiration Seminar also were Protac suppliers from Sweden, Spain, Norway and Holland. It's always great meeting up with them to discuss marketing plans for the new year. With all our heads together we managed to think up some brilliant ideas for 2013!

"From a marketing perspective the Denmark trip is always very useful. I get to hear about how the other suppliers in Europe market the products and the different techniques they use. It is always interesting to see their literature and brochures too. I come away inspired and full of ideas for the following year. Not to mention meeting Protac and gaining useful insight into new products that they are developing is always exciting."

Kate Earnshaw, Marketing Manager 

The Snoezelen House

The Snoezelen House, a set on Flickr.

Kingkraft's Paediatric team at Protac's Inspiration Seminar in Denmark.

Kingkraft happy supporters of the Changing Places Campaign

Imagine you are out and about, doing a bit of shopping or having a family day out at the zoo and suddenly you are desperate for the toilet. How easy is it for you to find one that is accessible to use? Very. Well what if you are disabled? It becomes much more difficult as you need to manoeuvre a wheelchair or use changing facilities and many public toilets are just not up to the standard that is required. That is now shifting thanks to the Changing Places Consortium Campaign.

There are thousands of people in the UK that have profound and multiple learning disablities and require enough space and the correct facilities in order to enjoy a day out knowing that their needs are catered for. Changing Places facilities, which cater for around a quarter of the UK's population, are different to the standard disabled loos. They are equipped with a height adjustable, adult-sized changing bench with a tracking hoist, or mobile version if this is not possible, to help people out their wheelchair and onto the bench and vice versa. They also provide enough space for the disabled person and up to two carers which prevents them being changed on a dirty bathroom floor. A fully functioning disabled toilet with space either side for the carers with a curtain to provide privacy is also present. The facility is extremely clean and hygienic with paper towels wide enough to cover the whole of the changing table with large bins for the waste. There is also a non-slip floor to prevent any falls and skids that could occur and cause damage.

Although the amount of facilities are increasing there are still not enough available to cater for the people who really need them. We at Kingkraft Ltd are very happy to say that we are big supporters of the campaign and have helped install Changing Places facilities in many areas all around the UK. Some are detailed below:

• Chester Zoo - Jubilee toilets: changing table, hoist and wash basin
• Warrington Bus Interchange - Hoist
• Nottingham Potter Centre - Shower Changer
• Ilkeston Co-Op - Hoist and wash basin
• Leeds HEART - Hoist and mobile changing table
• Lancaster YMCA - Mobile changing table

There are many more centres which we have helped in providing Changing Places toilets and we look forward to helping out with many more in the future. The campaign is aiming to provide facilities in all public areas across the UK.

For more information on the campaign please visit their website at www.changing-places.org

Naidex South 2012

Naidex South 2012, a set on Flickr.

View our photos from the exhibition