Soham Lodge Care Centre, Vendlet V5S, Cambridgeshire

David Lidford
Director, Soham Lodge Care Centre

“The Vendlet enabled Soham to cater for the needs of a bariatric resident – something we could never have considered previously, for many reasons.

Firstly, due to the resident’s size, he was almost completely bedridden, at high risk of pressure damage, and needed to be turned regularly. Without the turning power of the Vendlet, the risk of back injury for my staff would have been too great. Secondly, without the Vendlet, it would have taken four to five carers to manually turn the gentleman – precious resource that I simply couldn’t dedicate to one resident.

Beyond practical matters, manual handling to the extent that would have been required is very intrusive, with next to no dignity for the resident – not something I would want any of my residents to endure.

However, amazingly, the Vendlet removed all of these barriers.

With the turning power of the Vendlet, it only takes one person to turn the resident, which means I can stretch my resources further. It also eliminates the risk of back injury, as the Vendlet has completely eradicated the need for manual moving and handling. On top of that, I’m sound in the knowledge that we can provide a far greater level of dignity for my resident.

As well as the Vendlet itself, the service we received from Felgains was great. Myself and my staff received excellent training on how to use the equipment, and Felgains were very flexible with the installation – shifting time-slots at the last-minute to accommodate us, as we were waiting to hear what make of bed the resident was to arrive in from hospital.

Now I’ve seen how well the Vendlet can cater for bariatric patients, I’m now more than happy to care for them at Soham, and will soon be securing more Vendlets from Felgains.

Financed over the course of 5 years, I was surprised to discover that the cost per day of a Vendlet is less than one hour’s pay for a care support worker. Bearing in mind the new opportunities the Vendlet has created – it makes total economic sense for us here at Soham.

I’m now considering other uses for the Vendlet, including palliative care. Repositioning people who are in extreme pain has always been very difficult and distressing, both for the patients themselves and care staff. This could be greatly eased with the Vendlet. Rather than two carers turning a person manually – which would be four painful pressure points – the Vendlet distributes the pressure evenly, which massively reduces pain. It would also be possible for my care staff to turn people in the night without fully waking them, as the movement is so controlled and non-intrusive.

All in all, I’m very happy with the Vendlet. It has allowed us to care for a wider variety of residents, safely and comfortably, and has paid for itself already. I’m looking forward to introducing more.”

Soham Lodge Care Centre
Soham Rd,
Ely,
CB7 5WZ