It’s never easy finding holiday accommodation for a large group – there were 14 of us in total (8 adults and 6 children). It’s even harder when one member of the group is disabled and has a lot of requirements but this cottage managed to tick all the boxes.
The Rings is a specially designed single level property which is completely adaptable depending on how many people will be staying there. We used most of the space available including two kitchen/living spaces which became one when the folding wall was drawn back. There was just one unit blocked off for other people to use independently from our group.
Our family of four had two adjoining bedrooms which meant Quinns could share with his Big Sister, but I was right next door if he needed me. We had our own small kitchen consisting of a sink, hob and fridge so I could prepare Quinns’ feeds and medications without interfering with the main kitchen shenanigans.
Quinns had a profiling (hospital) bed with ceiling track hoists in both his bedroom and his wet room (they also provided a shower chair). Every room had its own wet room and at least another two rooms had ceiling track hoists. There was also a separate unit with washing machine and dryer which I had to use more than once during our stay.
The rural location was idyllic, the owners were incredibly helpful and the entire set up meant I was able to comfortably care for Quinns all week long so we could enjoy many adventures with our friends.
It is difficult for us to go away from home for any length of time. We have everything we need here, it’s fully accessible and set up exactly how we need it with a specialist profiling ‘hospital’ bed, ceiling track hoist and wet room. We also have a team of wonderful carers who come in and help us provide care for Quinns.
When we went to London for a hospital appointment last month, we had to leave all the home comforts and team behind for nearly a week. After our public transport experiences last time we decided to drive all the way. Huge thanks to Dad for his bravery at driving across Central London!
Thankfully we were given a room in the Ronald McDonald Evelina House the nights before and after our appointment. Arriving to find a parking space in front of the house was a great relief after being on the road for nearly 12 hours. The DBS appointment went well but took the best part of the day, so it was so helpful to have a space to rest before we hit the road again the following day.
Dad managed to arrange a work gig for the Friday so on Thursday we transferred to the Premier Inn hotel at London Archway for the next two nights. I had heard it was the most accessible hotel in London boasting a total of 9 accessible rooms with ceiling track hoists!
We had two rooms booked: one standard and one accessible with a ceiling track hoist. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we ended up with two accessible rooms, both with hoists. One had a wet room with a shower, the other had a bathroom. (It was brilliant to have both so there was a choice of whether to shower or bath Quinns but a bit of me did feel guilty about having two accessible rooms in case someone else needed one.)
Part of the struggle with being away isn’t just the lack of hoisting but a combination of no hoist, low bed, and no additional helpers. So having one of those issues solved gave my back a bit of a rest at least.
Quinns, Big Sister and I had the Friday free to explore the city while Dad worked. Although the hotel is the most accessible in London the closest tube stations are not. We would have had a 25-minute walk to the nearest step free station, and we weren’t feeling well disposed to taking the bus after last time especially with a team member missing.
Instead, we made the most of our hotel room. With only an accessible shower room at home it was a bonus to be able to get Quinns in the bath. We used the hoist with his shower sling to gently lower him into the water where he relaxed for a good 30-40 minutes. It saved me from building the painstakingly packaged up shower chair that we had brought with us in the WAV.
After our visit I contacted Premier Inn to thank them for having so many rooms with hoists available. I found out that bed raisers would have been available if I’d asked for them and the style of bed they are using is suitable for use with a mobile hoist which is good to know for future.
I also asked them why this one hotel had so many accessible rooms with hoists especially since the nearest tube station wasn’t accessible. Apparently, it was a planning condition from the Council when the hotel was built. So, this hotel has nine and their London Stratford hotel has one. Sadly though Premier Inn has no plans to roll out hoists in any other hotels in their chain.
Before this trip to London, I had never really thought about hoists in hotel rooms but they made a really big difference to our experience. There would be real potential if Premier Inn and other hotel chains were to take this on. Since being on this trip, I have also discovered there are no hoists in hotels in the whole of Scotland!
I would love to know about other people’s experiences of hoists in hotels.
Quinns, trains & changing places 