A group of carers in the Wirral have been fitted-out with new equipment to streamline their job looking after some of the region's most vulnerable.
Thanks to new funding provided by the government, Wirral council has been able to provide the team at Professional Carers Wirral with new electronic bikes. The new initiative will help to reduce the 'exhausting' amount of on-foot travelling the carers are required to do each day when working 'in the community', going from house to house looking after the needs of the area's most vulnerable.
The funding will also provide other equipment and initiatives to get them on the road, such as paid-for driving lessons and access to pool vehicles. It was awarded after the council identified transport difficulties as one of the main things deterring people from taking on care jobs.
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Tracey Veste, 48, a carer from Liscard, told the ECHO that the new initiative will help to reduce just how 'exhausting' her current job is, as she is required to walk or manually cycle between appointments for five days a week. She also has arthritis, and said that the new equipment helps to take the strain off her troubled knee.
She said: "If you're walking or cycling doing this job its exhausting.
"A full day on walking or on an ordinary pushbike is just exhausting. It's quite hilly around here and the hills wipe me out.
"I've been on a bike for six years now, doing this job, but having the electric bike has made it so much easier. It just takes the unnecessary hard work out.
"It means I get to spend more time with the patients because I'm spending much less time and energy travelling. Now I'm less tired. I'm getting from house to house a lot quicker. It's a really good thing.
"The people I'm caring for are made up for me because they know I've been on a bike for years. One of my ladies has actually named my bike. She called it Daisy."
Graham Hodkinson, Director of Wirral Council’s Adults, Health and Strategic Commissioning, said: “We are really pleased to have been able to provide this practical support for carers and make their duties that little bit easier on a day-to-day basis. Not only are electric bikes a quicker, cheaper and less exhausting way for them to travel between people’s homes, they are also easier on the environment and will help the council towards its commitment to reducing carbon emissions in response to the Climate Emergency.”
