We are the Peterborough regional branch of Remap whose remit is to help the lives of disabled persons on an individual basis. (There are about 80 other, as we call them, ‘panels’). We achieve this by designing and making tailor made equipment (or modifying existing kit) to suit individual requirements which can’t be satisfied from mainstream sources. We have a very small Head Office team (say 3+ full time equivalents) so the panels have to be very self sufficient in terms of funding (we do not charge clients), marketing, recruiting, and general management of the operations.
We meet periodically to arrange and review what we are doing. Referrals (c.35 pa) come in from health professionals (usually Occupational Therapists or Physiotherapists), from the public, and from support organisations. Usually a volunteer (based upon geographic location or upon specialised skills) will be allocated and will expect to satisfy the requirement on a one-to-one basis with the client. We rarely fail! We aim to have an OT on the panel to advise us on matters of which we ‘engineers’ may know little!
