Care home residents enjoy the seaside in beach wheelchairs

Edward Perryman, who is in his 80s, enjoyed sitting in a wheelchair to watch the waves crashing onto the shore, before eating an ice cream on the seafront.

He is a resident of The Old Rectory care home in Exeter, run by Southern Healthcare, whose staff worked with the Beach Wheelchair Project to arrange the outing.

Andy Cowling, The Old Rectory’s housekeeper, said: “Before Edward came into the care home last August, he'd been in a bedroom in his house in Exeter for eight years. He was very reluctant to go out because he hadn't been out in such a long time.

“It’s taken us a long time to encourage Edward to come out, but we've been able to do it. We kept offering to take him out and we found something he wanted to do – a trip to the beach.”

Edward, who is living with dementia, asked to sit and watch the waves during his visit to the beach with fellow care home resident Barbara Kelly. They were accompanied by Southern Healthcare carer Lakshmi Ajith and event coordinator Tom Matthews.

Tom said: “It's just amazing for the residents to do something that they did back in the day with their children, with their families. It's great for them to have a bit of normality in their life again. Edward hadn’t been out in so long and you could see how content he was.

“When we got back to the care home, Edward said how much he had enjoyed the trip and, being a gentleman, he asked Andy how much he owed him for it.”

The Beach Wheelchair Project is an Exmouth Town Council initiative, led by Cllr Pauline Stott.

She said: “I am so pleased that care homes have started using the wheelchairs now. My ambition with this project has always been to enable as many people as possible to go to the beach with their families and friends, regardless of disability.”

To book a beach wheelchair or to volunteer for The Beach Wheelchair Project visit www.exmouth.gov.uk/book-a-beach-wheelchair/