Michelle Giles, Centre Manager at QEF Mobility Services in Carshalton, Surrey shares some information about the team, their services and the centre’s history, as they celebrate 40 years as a Mobility Centre this year.
QEF started life in 1934 as a specialist vocational training college for disabled people. In 1956 Banstead Place was set up to train those who had been categorised as ‘young chronic sick’ in all activities of daily living.
In 1974 the focus of Banstead Place shifted to becoming a specialist unit for young people of school age with disabilities that needed support with mobility and assistive technology. Most students were full-time wheelchair users or able to walk only a few steps indoors so giving them outdoor mobility skills was key to them developing as young people in society.
The government introduced Mobility Allowance in 1976, a tax-free benefit available to disabled people who were unable or virtually unable to walk. Although this benefited people ordinarily considered too disabled to drive, QEF sourced modified vehicles, driving instructors and a safe place to train, and decided to develop its own assessment and training programme.
In 1981, Banstead Place Mobility Centre was officially opened but the service was only available to QEF residents. After receiving a grant of £10,000 from the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) in 1982, QEF was able to make its services available to the public creating the UK’s first mobility centre in the process.
Their fantastic team consists of 29 staff, 5 contractors and 10 volunteers and Michelle feels privileged to work with them. They have given advice on all kinds of transport including trains, boats, trikes and even a segway. If it moves outdoors, the QEF team can assess it!!
Their driving school provides practical tuition as well as support with learning driving theory.
They also have the Tryb4uFly, a support service specially created by QEF in 2012 to reduce the anxieties and stress for people with disabilities before and during air travel. We also have an equipment hire service supported by their fundraising team.
Over the last 40 years they have been able to help a lot of people through providing our services: –
- Over 200,000 people have been helped with information and advice
- Over 35,000 people have been assessed
- Over 30,000 hours of tuition have been delivered through our driving school
- We have welcomed over 20,000 visitors
The QEF team are looking forward to some new initiatives over the coming year including the Police Fitness to Drive referral scheme, opening of 2 new outreach centres, increasing paediatric expertise and services and the expansion of their equipment hire to name just a few.
If you are local to the Surrey area and want to find out more about how the QEF Mobility Services team can help you or someone you know please visit:
Web: http://qef.org.uk/our-services/qef-mobility-services
Tel: 020 8770 1151
Email: mobility@qef.org.uk
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