In November’s ‘Driving Mobility Centre of the Month’ we focus our spotlight on Derby DrivAbility in Kinsgsway, Derby

Operating for over 40 years as a specialist service for driving assessments, Derby DrivAbility initially operated as an informal service run through the Occupational Therapy department at the local Rehab Hospital.

The centre’s name has changed over the years: in 1985 becoming Derby Disabled Driving Centre, in 1995 Derby Regional Mobility Centre and in 2006 their current name of Derby DrivAbility was born. They have now been in their current purpose-built building since 2018.

Derby DrivAbility has a very enthusiastic team working from the Centre that offer support and advice to the clients. When asked about what the team love about their jobs they said, “that every day is a learning day, and that they get huge satisfaction when young people can drive for the first time, or when they are enabling people to resume and continue driving.

The services they currently offer are driving, passenger, non-driving assessments, paediatric powered wheelchairs, assessments, special seating clinics and a very limited amount of tuition using adapted controls that are not generally available. They are currently in the very early stages of providing mobility scooter assessments.

The Centre has two outreach services that operate from Newark and Stoke on Trent, but they are currently limited to the days they open due to the availability of premises.

Derby DrivAbility team have future aspirations and aim to expand their existing services and explore new opportunities such as the Hubs project and Try B4U Fly, advising and helping people travelling by airlines with a disability. They are also in the early stages of working with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Police on Fitness to Drive assessments to help older drivers maintain driving and independence.

If you are local to the Derby area and want to find out more about how the Derby DrivAbility team could help you or someone you know please visit:

https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/service-drivability/

Tel: 01332 788300

Email: dhft.driving@nhs.net

#MyDrivingMobility #DrivingAssessments #DisabledDrivers @DerbyDrivAbility #Derby #Newark #StokeOnTrent

 

Izzy, aged 16 and quadruple amputee, has just received her brand-new adapted car and started specialist driving lessons thanks to the Derby-based Driving Mobility centre.

Driving Mobility accredits 20 independent driving assessments centres across the UK, with over 70 outreach facilities, which provide clinically-led driving and mobility assessments. Service users self-refer or are signposted from the DVLA, Motability, Police and healthcare professionals such as GPs and Occupational Therapists (OT). Each Driving Mobility Centre, such as the NHS facility at Kingway Hospital Derby (Derby DrivAbility), provide guidance and support to individuals with restricted mobility. A large number of young disabled people use these services when aiming to drive for the first time such as Izzy.

Izzy contracted meningococcal septicaemia aged 7 which resulted in life-saving amputations. As a young teenager Izzy was keen to learn to drive however, she knew adapted controls would be needed. Izzy was referred to the Driving Mobility Centre by her OT who was based at the City Hospital in Nottingham. Being able to drive was simply another challenge Izzy would take on without hesitation thanks to her determined attitude.

Following an initial telephone consultation, Izzy visited the Derby-based Driving Mobility Centre to meet an OT and ADI (Approved Driving Instructor). To help ascertain the right vehicle for her needs, Izzy was paired up with another service user, Angela Yates, who also was a quadruple amputee. Angela has previously achieved driving independence through the support of the Centre and so discussed the type of car and adapted controls that worked for her. This gave Izzy confidence that she could achieve her goal, not that extra confidence was really required thanks to her positive personality.

A driving assessment was arranged so that Izzy could try a vehicle with suitably adapted controls.  Accompanied by an ADI and OT, she drove using a radial accelerator, push away brake, steering wheel cup, lightened power steering and a bleeper control system for secondary controls including indicators and horn. Izzy was able to confidently use these adaptations quickly and drove for five miles comfortably – the team were delighted with her ability and approach. However, the Driving Mobility team advised that further bespoke adaptions would be necessary for Izzy if she was to use a car fulltime. She was signposted to the vehicle adaptations specialists Des Gosling Mobility who had previously adapted Angela’s car. This established supplier assessed Izzy’s needs and agreed to provide a solution when she had selected a car.

Izzy decided to lease a new car through the Motability scheme however due to the Covid-19 outbreak she experienced a delay. However, in early July 2020, her new car was delivered to Des Gosling and the new controls were fitted. Izzy has now approved all the adaptations and has just begun driving lessons.

All the Derby Driving Mobility team expect Izzy to reach her goal of being able to drive without any issue. If it had not been for the coronavirus crisis, she might have achieved this before her 17^th birthday as she was able to get her licence a year earlier because of her disability. Everyone at Driving Mobility wishes Izzy the best of luck.

#MyDrivingMobility

Teams from Derby DrivAbility and Birmingham’s Regional Driving Assessment Centre (RDAC) will be representing Driving Mobility at Motability’s ‘The Big Event’ on Friday 28 June and Saturday 29 June 2019. The teams will be on hand to explain to visitors how Driving Mobility centres operate and the varied services they provide.

In addition to the main stand, RDAC’s Stephen Dent, Assessment Manager, (Friday) and Barbara Hutton, Occupational Therapist, (Saturday) will be delivering talks on ‘advice and support available at driving assessment centres’ at 1pm on both days in the main Speaker Area.

The Big Event brings together everything available on the Motability Scheme to make joining the Scheme as easy as possible. It’s free to attend and a great day out for the whole family. There will be:

• Nearly 200 cars, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs), adaptations, scooters and powered wheelchairs on display
• The opportunity to test drive adapted and non-adapted cars, including passenger WAV test drive experiences
• Expert speakers giving talks on all aspects of the Scheme
• Motability Scheme advisors available to chat to
• Free parking, free tea, coffee or soft drink
• A children’s play area including a bouncy castle and more…

The event will showcase:

• Over 100 cars from 27 different manufacturers
• Over 45 adapted cars and Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV)
• Over 50 scooters and powered wheelchairs
• Specialist advice from our Scheme partners

You can download your free event guide here: https://www.motability.co.uk/tbe_guide_2019.pdf

Part of the Driving Mobility charity network, Derby DrivAbility has recently showcased its driving assessment and mobility services to healthcare professionals and the general public.

Derby DrivAbility is located in a new custom-built centre and operates within the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. Its Occupational Therapists (OTs), Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) ably supported by the Administration staff offer professional driving assessments to people who need to gain, or retain, the ability to drive following a diagnosis involving impairment or disability. Its first open day at the new premises provided the opportunity for professionals, families and disabled drivers to discover the range of services on offer and see the latest adaptations for assisted motoring.

The event was supported by specialist manufacturers demonstrating accessible and drive-from-wheelchair vehicles alongside adapted driving controls, car boot hoists and passenger solutions. Sirus Automotive, Allied Mobility, Des Gosling Mobility and Autochair were able to explain to attendees the value of their assistive solutions and how they work closely with Derby DrivAbility. Derby DrivAbility also appreciate the last minute support of N-tec Mobility who, despite not being able to attend, managed to provide two adapted vehicles for the day.

Visitors to the open day were able to discuss individual adapted driving needs on a one-to-one basis with the Derby DrivAbility representatives. Whether it was for personal needs, a provisional driver or client in care, visitors could view, assess and discuss the benefits and suitability of adapted controls and equipment such as left-foot accelerators, steering aids, assistive hand controls, ring accelerators and rotating passenger car seats and scooter/wheelchair hoists. There was also the opportunity to experience the static assessment rig at the centre which is used for clinical assessments and fitness-to-drive tests.

Liz Whiteman, Centre Manager/Lead Clinician comments: “I’m delighted that our first open day was a success. The atmosphere was positive and the Derby DrivAbility team engaged with a steady number of visitors throughout the day. It was fantastic to welcome back retired colleagues, friends and existing service users who have experienced a positive outcome and to meet healthcare professionals seeking guidance for their clients. We also welcomed families with teenage disabled children seeking assistance through to elderly drivers investigating easier ways to drive. The exhibits from external manufacturers added to the value of visiting – we would like to thank them for their support. On a lighter note, it was fun to watch the competitive side of many of our visitors in an attempt to see who could produce the quickest reaction times on the static assessment rig!”

 

Driving Mobility, supported by the Department for Transport
As a registered charity, Driving Mobility accredits a network of 20 driving assessment centres covering the whole of the UK. Many with outreach facilities, these centres include independent charities and NHS centres which offer professional information and assessment so disabled and elderly people can gain or retain independence.

Driving Mobility ensures that there are common standards, promotes good practice and offers training and education to all regional centres, whilst working closely with associated national organisations. These include the Department for Transport, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Driver and Vehicle Agency (NI), Motability, NHS Trusts and the Police, along with many more valued stakeholders.

Driving Mobility is supported by the Department for Transport and its patron Baroness Thomas of Winchester.

#MyDrivingMobility