Reclining Chair Update

We are constantly thinking of new ways to improve our products and help our customers even more. So after much discussion our ever popular Windsor Rise and Reclining chair is now offered with memory foam in the seating and back. Our decision to do this was down mostly to the huge success of our adjustable beds being sold with the memory foam mattress as standard.

The initial response from the first few customers is how comfortable it is, and due to the nature of memory foam we expect it to be much more reliable over the longer period as it will reduce the sagging nature of other products. One of the most surprising things we found was the support it offered in the back. We always knew it would offer more support than normal cushioning, but it surpassed our expectations. Back support is hugely important for the people that use our products and the memory foam just helps even more. It really is an excellent and exciting upgrade to our product and it pushes us even further infront of our competition.

Happy St Patricks Day

All of us at Comfort Plus Products would like to wish all of our Irish visitors a great St Patricks Day. It wouldnt be a bad thing if we all used it as an excuse to have a glass of Guiness. According to scientists, drinking Guiness (in moderation) may work as well as an aspirin to prevent heart clots that raise the risk of heart attacks. Also Guiness is believed to contain "antioxidant compounds" similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, which are responsible for slowing down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

So maybe we should all raise a glass to St Patrick, but only the one!

Winter Payments - Budget

BUDGET UPDATE

Winter Payment Increase

Over 60's will receive £250 instead of £200
Over 80's will receive £400 instead of £300

However, if you drive a car, smoke and like to drink, you'll need the increase!!

Stroke Patients, get started....

Just read an interesting article saying how stroke patients should start rehabilitating just 24 hours after the stroke. Even by their own admissions, the doctors involved in the research are suprised this has never been tried before. I am not.

My mum, a seemingly fit and healthy 60 years suffered a sudden stroke a few years ago, it was a shock to all of us, particularly as through all her life she has always been, and still is very active. She was very lucky, and came out of the stroke with very little issues, an ideal candidate for this research. We, as her family however didnt let her do a thing. We put the stroke down to her active life, and immediately after the stroke and for months after that we did everything for her; thinking this was the best plan of action. But if this research is proved to be true perhaps she needed to start the rehabilitation straight away. But as caring family you would never dream of letting someone close rehabilitate so quick after something like a stroke, you just feel that protection is the best way to go.

I still feel that I would find it very difficult to let someone close to me start rehabilitating so quickly after a stroke, particular after a first one which scares the life out of everyone, but if this research is proved correct its the best thing to do!

Stem Cells to help fix Osteoarthritis

Just added another news article which again could see significant medical advances due to research at cell level. This development could help those with osteoarthritis as well as those with fractures due to accidents, or bone loss from cancer.

This will again further fuel the argument for stem cell research, again winning more people on side who suffer, or have close family and friends who have suffered with the likes of cancer, osteoarthritis or been involved in an accident and had months of rehabilitation that could have been shortened.

Again, I sit and wonder what wonderful treatments we could have if scientists had no restrictions? But again someone would argue. At what cost?

New Diabetes therapy could lead to 'cure'

I added a new article on the news section today, taken from BBC News. The article discusses new advances in cell therapy in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes.

There has been a lot of controversy regarding cell therapy, particular stem cell research. But it is quite exciting to have news that treatments involving cell therapy could potentially lead to cures to conditions we never thought possible. I am sure those people suffering with an illness welcome any news of developments that could help create a cure, for themselves or others. Although stem cell research is much more controversial, for the person with the condition, perhaps what the research can offer them far outweighs the morals of the research in the first place. Is it just governments, and pressure groups that are against research of this kind, it would be interesting to hear the thoughts of those with a particular illness.

This particular News article touches on another quite current issue, that of donorship. The procedure discussed uses the cells from a dead donors pancreas. This at a time when donor groups are urging the legislation to be changed so that everyone is a donor, unless they specifically request not to be. Could developments like this add weight to this donor argument?

It does make you think however, if we were all donors, if we did just let scientists do whatever research and experiment they needed to do, what would be the outcomes? How many lives would be saved? how many people would have a better quality of life? How many illnesses would be banished once and for all?

Recliner now available in a bigger size

We had some excellent news yesterday. One of our favourite reclining chairs is now available in an extra large size. This is brilliant for anyone who is perhaps larger than average, or very tall. Although we make a range of chairs in a range of sizes, this applys to our Warwick Chair which is one of our most popular chairs.

The Warwick recliner is also available with a rising system to help get out of the chair, and a massage system and heatpad. This chair is also available in a petite size as well.

A nice hot bath

We had an enquiry come through on our emails the yesterday asking if we could recommend any bathing products for someones auntie in Australia, as they couldn't seem to find a product over there. We offer a portable bathlift, which sits in the bath and allows the user to go up and down to get over the problem of getting into a bath. We could ship the product to Australia, but its nothing we would ideally like to do, incase of a problem, it becomes quite awkward. I am sure our engineers would love a trip to Australia to fix a bathlift, should it stop working; but financially its not something that would benefit our company!

Besides all of this, we couldn't offer our product anyway as it turns out the lady in question has a corner bath. Our bathlift, like many others on the market do not operate in a corner bath as they rely on the sides of a normal bath for stability. I did do some investigation, and struggled to find any suitable equipment for a corner bath. Not sure if anyone has overcome this problem, I would be interested to know, but the whole bathing problem seems to be heightened when a corner bath is introduced.

Which food?

I have just added an article in our News section which discusses Caffeine having an adverse effect on blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. I am not totally surprised, not that I had any insider knowledge, or have I any biology background, but Caffeine is quite a strong stimulant and I could imagine it causing other problems. But what really gets me with all the warnings on food and drink is the amount of conflicting information we get.

I was reading the other day, that red wine is not good for you, although recent thought was that red wine was good for you. The report mentioned above regarding the caffeine did state that although it could be adverse for people with diabetes, its fine for those without diabetes. My mum after her stroke was told that she shouldnt drink pineapple juice with the particular tablet she was taken. A friend with high cholestral was told not to eat prawns, even though I understood fish to be good for you!. Its all very confusing.

Food and drink is a very popular issue in the media of late and much is spoken about food labelling regarding the ingredients, the calorific, fat, salt and additive content; perhaps companies could also add warnings as to the adverse effects of the product on those with particular problems. Perhaps we could see on a jar of coffee "Warning not suitable for those with Type 2 diabetes", or on a sausage roll, "Do not take this product if you have a heart condition, or if you have woken up with a bit of a cough". * It all sounds ridiculous, but it would give us, the consumer a bit more help when trying to keep up to date with all the latest trends in food and drinks.





*This is untrue, its just to make a point, before people start writing in to ask if they can eat a sausage roll as they had a heart attack 3 years ago, or for that matter because they have got a cough today.

Fine the patients?

I was watching television this morning and there was a lengthy piece about on how long people have to wait to see a doctor. I never knew there was a problem, and in fact I never knew how lucky I am.

I have been registered with my surgery all my life, and have never been anywhere else, and so as it turns out, I have had the wool pulled over my eyes regarding the efficiency of doctors surgerys. If I phone up in the morning, I can get an appointment the very next day, and normally with my own doctor. I thought this was commonplace, but according to the television, and now having researched, it clearly isnt. Depending on where you live you could wait days for an appointment, not much fun when you are sick or in pain!

The last time I was in the doctors however, I did notice they had a sign that was kept up to date with the percentage of missed importants. It was running at around 7%. Now surely at the surgerys where you have to wait days for an appointment this figure must be huge. As people either get better, or have to travel to the local A&E.

Everytime an appointment is missed someone misses out. A doctor is left waiting, and a patient with a crippling painful illness is left at home waiting for his appointment in two days time bacause some idiot had a cold and after a day or so in bed feels a lot better and couldnt be bothered to ring up the surgery and cancel the appointment. The private sector would pay a GP between £20 and £25 for a consultation, so why not fine the patient this amount? I am sure if someone had to go private and knew if they didnt turn up they would still have to pay they would make sure they cancelled the appointment, so why should the NHS have to suffer?

I hate the way people just dont seem to care nowadays. "It someone elses problem", but its not, its all of ours problem.

Buy Cheap, pay more.

We get a lot of phonecalls from people asking about our products and then get told they can buy it cheaper elsewhere. We also get a lot of phonecalls from customers asking us if we can fix their products as they bought it from a company who have since gone bust / are charging a ridiculous amount to fix it / dont want to know.

One of my favourite stories was one of a man who told me he had bought a scooter from the internet cheaper than us. He received the scooter, put it together, and after a week it stopped working. He phoned the company who asked him to repackage it and send it back and they would send it back working within 4 weeks! I would happily say 95% of our customers would not be able to do this. But apparently this is acceptable practice as it was cheaper.

Its amazing the amount of people that are just looking for the cheapest product on the market and are not taking into consideration the quality or even the backup service offered by the people they are buying from. If you are looking for a product which is going to improve your quality of life and aid your mobility, surely quality and service should come long before price?.

It is possible to buy anything cheaper on the Internet, but its not always price that is important. I would say that 85% of enquiries we get through the Internet are from family members or friends of the end user. Quite often these people think they are being helpful finding the cheapest product, but unfortunatly when the problems occur its not that person who has to struggle on with the swollen ankles that cant be raised or, having to sleep in the chair for weeks on end because the adjustable bed is broken and they just cant sleep flat with the COPD.

The Internet is a great way of finding cheaper alternatives, internet retailers generally have less overheads so they can offer the products cheaper, but dont lose out on service or quality. If you are looking for someone else, think about the inconvienance that could be caused if the product breaks down. Imagine what it would be like if your mobile phone breaks, its like you have lost a limb, well in the case of mobility products, that is never truer.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our new Blog.

In our Blog we will offer comments and advice on all issues relating to a wide range of disability and mobility issues.

We will keep you up to date with current affairs and also issues on the marketplace, including product reviews, new products and general advice when using the products.

If there is anything you would like to see mentioned on our website then please email us and let us know.