Promove news and blog

22 December 2011 » Press releases

Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year

-Winners for 2011 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs announced-

A disabled entrepreneur from Aberystwyth came joint first in the 2011 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK, a competition run by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability.

Huw Thomas, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, saw off tough competition to win the prestigious award, which has been running for five years and recognises the achievements and unique challenges faced by disabled entrepreneurs. He was presented with a cheque for £50,000 at a special ceremony in London on Wednesday night (14 December).

The 64-year-old’s business Promove UK (www.promove.uk.com), designs, manufactures and supplies specialist slings used to rescue, evacuate and transfer sick, injured, disabled or incapacitated people.

Huw came joint first with Rob Smith, a 36-year-old disabled entrepreneur who runs The Active Hands Company (www.activehands.co.uk). Rob designs, manufactures and sells gripping aids which allow disabled people with limited hand function to grip a wide variety of items.

Huw said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have won this Award, and would like to thank Sir Stelios, the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and Leonard Cheshire Disability for making this possible. This news is a terrific boost to my business and will make such a difference.”

Sir Stelios said: “I would like to congratulate Huw on running a successful business and displaying the drive, creativity and determination to reach the top and really fly. The £50,000 prize will ensure The Active Hands Company has an important boost for growth. Today, Huw joins our community of entrepreneurs who are making a difference.

“I am passionate about encouraging entrepreneurship through the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, working in partnership with Leonard Cheshire Disability on this award. With around 50 per cent of disabled adults out of work, removing the barriers disabled people face in business is essential.”

Jane Jutsum, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: “Disabled people in business experience disadvantage and discrimination everyday largely through ignorance - this must change.

“To win this award Huw had to prove that he is dynamic, driven and his business; which is meeting a need in the market, is destined to be a huge success.

“Leonard Cheshire Disability leads the way in enabling disabled people to succeed in business and in employment, and campaigns to challenge people to change the way they see disability. Our partnership with Sir Stelios is helping the charity highlight the barriers disabled people face in the workplace and recognise the outstanding achievements of disabled entrepreneurs.”

As well as a £50,000 prize – one of the biggest of its kind – Huw will also benefit from specialist support courtesy of the Stelios Scholar Reach-out Programme.

More about Huw and his business

Huw founded Promove UK with his business partner, Dana Thomas, in 2007.

He said: “After designing a sling for my own personal use, I realised there was a gap in the market for this kind of specialist equipment.”

New designs by Huw were added to the line and the company quickly grew.
Today his customers include fire, ambulance and police services, schools and colleges, airport ground handlers, holiday organisations, shipping, care homes, social services, charities and disabled individuals. Promove also supply slings for humanitarian aid operations, and Huw’s products have been used recently in Haiti and India.

Huw said: “In running my business I face challenges every day. When I am away from home I need wheelchair accessible accommodation, which can limit my choices. When I travel on business I have to take a driver with me. And because I have limited use of my hands I find typing increasingly difficult and use voice recognition software.

“But being disabled has its advantages, providing unique experiences and insights. According to a Chinese proverb ‘the gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials’ and that is the philosophy I go by!”

Media enquiries

• For further information and interview requests please contact Natalia Kannas in Leonard Cheshire Disability’s press office on 020 3242 0389 or email natalia.kannas@LCDisability.org. Out of office 07903 949 388.

Notes to the editors:
• Leonard Cheshire Disability supports thousands of disabled people in the UK and works in more than 50 countries. We campaign for change and provide innovative services that give disabled people the opportunity to live life their way. Visit www.LCDisability.org/

• The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation is committed to dynamic philanthropy: making a positive, exponential difference through funding, inspiring and advising educational, entrepreneurial and environmental initiatives.Through the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, Stelios has pledged £3m for 200 scholarships over ten years at the London School of Economics and London City University Cass Business School. The three finalists for Stelios’ Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs will benefit from on-the-ground assistance with their businesses from the Stelios Scholar Reach Out Programme. Supervised by two faculty members from both LSE and Cass, three teams of Stelios Scholars will dedicate 10 hours of their time in a period of three months to assist each finalist. To find out more visit; www.stelios.com

Natalia Kannas
External Communications Officer, SLR Central Office
Leonard Cheshire Disability
Telephone: 020 3242 0389
Email: natalia.kannas@LCDisability.org

14 November 2011 » Press releases

Manual handling disabled children

The Promove sling is a really simple device that is easily placed beneath the child to allow two, three or four people to lift and move when a hoist is unavailable or impractical. There are two sizes suitable for children, the smaller will accommodate a child of about three years to 10 years of age and the larger model children from around 8 to 14 years. The adult size is suitable for the average 12-year-old and upwards. All sizes have the option of head support.
Manual handling regulations and training should protect workers from musculoskeletal injury caused by excessive loads, frequency of lifting and difficult positions. They should also protect the person being lifted by ensuring that the equipment used is appropriate for the task. The Promove sling enables as many operators as possible to lift the child, distributing the weight and providing good handholds. The child is properly supported without pressure points or the risk of skin damage or dislocation.
Promove slings are widely used in schools for emergency evacuation, medical emergencies and as a means of involving the disabled child in many more activities. Shirley Parker of Lindon Bennett school said “the sling has been a great asset, it recently went on an adventure holiday and was used constantly”. Nick Lilley the deputy director of The Calvert Trust Lake District described the Promove sling as “A fantastic piece of kit! I would certainly recommend this to anyone moving and assisting people with disabilities in the outdoor environment”. For families with disabled children the Promove slings make days out and holidays so much easier and enjoyable; Jane, one of many parents to have bought the sling said “everyone who has used it have found it great”, a sentiment echoed by many others.

27 October 2011 » Press releases

Outward Bound

The Lake District Calvert Trust is an outdoor activities centre which specialises in working with people with disabilities. A leader in its field, the centre provides multi activity courses and expeditions, delivers disability awareness and moving and handling training to outdoor centres and advises National Governing Bodies in enabling people with disabilities to fully participate in outdoor activities. Nick Liley, Deputy Director, had this to say about the Promove sling “it has become a vital tool as part of our work at the Lake District Calvert Trust; it has enabled people with disabilities to access the most inaccessible areas and activities. A fantastic piece of kit! I would certainly recommend this to anyone moving and assisting people with disabilities in the outdoor environment”.

20 September 2011 » Press releases

Handling PRM at Manchester Airport

12 September 2011

BREAKTHROUGH AT MANCHESTER AIRPORT FOR

WHEELCHAIR PASSENGERS

Manchester Airport is the first UK airport where a more comfortable and dignified travel experience is being provided for wheelchair passengers through the innovative use of equipment.  Using the unique patented Promove sling, OCS customer care agents, who provide services for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) at Manchester airport, can now, where appropriate, slip the sling underneath the passenger without lifting them under their arms from an aisle chair into the aircraft seat.  The Promove sling has been used extensively by the fire services, schools and colleges as an evacuation device and OCS is the first PRM service provider to introduce it for airport use.   

The sling was invented by Dr Huw Martin Thomas who has worked in scientific research for 34 years and has been confined to a wheelchair through disability for over 30 years.  “As a passenger with reduced mobility myself,” commented Dr Thomas, “I understand how important it is to feel safe and dignified when transferring into my seat on the aeroplane.  The design of the travel sling means that the handlers at the front and back can lift me using two handles each without having to hold on to me.”

Claire Longden, Airport Security and Regulatory Manager for Manchester Airport, said:  “We are constantly on the look out for innovations that will improve our customers’ experience. The Promove sling is a fantastic idea that will make a difference for both customers and the Health and Safety of OCS staff.  It is great news that we are the first airport to have Promove in use.”

OCS PRM customer care agents at Manchester airport have welcomed the Promove travel sling as it reduces their risk of muscular skeletal injury and helps them to greatly improve the passenger experience.  The sling facilitates lifting in confined spaces as weight is distributed and up to four operatives can be involved in the lifting process for heavier passengers.

OCS aims to use the Promove sling at other major UK airports where the company provides PRM services, including Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds and East Midlands.  The business has been providing services for passengers with reduced mobility at UK airports since 1992 and currently assists over one million passengers a year.  With over 50 years’ experience of working in partnership with airports and airlines, OCS provides a range of bespoke services to the industry, achieving improved standards and delivering value.

OCS currently provides assistance to passengers with reduced mobility at 10 EU airports:  Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, East Midlands, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

ENDS 

Note to Editors:

For further details regarding this press release, please contact: 

OCS Communications Manager, Jackie Bennett Shaw on tel:  01524 595453,

e-mail jackie.bennettshaw@ocs.co.uk

For information on Promove:   tel:  01970 820893, enquiries@promove.uk.com,  www.promove.uk.com

For information on OCS, please visit:  www.ocs.co.uk

20 September 2011 » Press releases

Promove slings go on pilgrimage.

A letter received from Mrs Billie Clinton, Chief Nurse for Society of Our Lady of Lourdes, Hayes, Middlesex.

We take 76 – 85 pilgrims, disabled, on holiday and we have found them [Promove slings] wonderful for lifting, they already have been well used and our disabled found them comfortable and less traumatic than hoists and the like. All my nurses and doctors approve them and say how good they were.