Shopmobility Renfrewshire: helping people get around

Part One: The inside story on Shopmobility Renfrewshire and their tireless efforts to improve the lives of people in our region 

Many of us take things for granted on a daily basis, never considering the struggles that carrying out a simple task such as going shopping or taking a day trip can cause those with disabilities. 

However, this is something that is at the epicentre of everything Shopmobility Renfrewshire. 

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A charitable organisation with over 698 members, they strive to do as much as they can from their base in The Paisley Centre car park to help provide confidence and peace of mind. However, they don’t operate in a vacuum, often working alongside important bodies such as The Health and Social Care Partnership.

This collaboration with Shopmobility has run for a number of years, providing funding for various projects, including mobility equipment to supporting health and safety videos, something which Shopmobility Renfrewshire’s Chair Kenny Maclaren truly felt the need for after a spate of incidents. 

“In the last year or so, you see a lot more reports of people on scooters getting knocked over and we wanted to educate people.” 

Amid working with the Renfrewshire Towns and Villages Accessibility Forum network, they have strived to provide comprehensive safety accessibility surveys to achieve positive results for people to get out and about safely using dropped kerbs – opening up routes and pathways which have been safety assessed. 

Above all, Kenny and the team just want to be there to help anyone who may need that extra help to have a better quality of life. 

“We’re always in that cycle of new people realising we’re here. Even due to the name, people often presumed that we only work with people in Paisley, but the whole of Renfrewshire is welcome to use the service and that’s what the change reflects.”

From their base, the team have been on the frontline of accessibility, recently working with Scotrail to test taking scooters on and off trains. 

This all stemmed from a service user who had issues with getting his scooter on the train and now, he rents from them. 

“Every second Saturday, he’s there so that he can get the train on Largs,” Kenny reflects. Our priority is to make sure people are safe and can enjoy life, that’s the whole remit. People with mobility issues deserve to get out and engage with things in the community just like anyone else 

“One person said to me ‘my scooter is my legs’ and that’s what people don’t realise. We know people whose quality of life has been totally improved, whether that’s being able to save money by going out to a big shop or taking their kids to school. That’s what we’ll continue doing from here on out.”

Part two: Tommy Higgins of Shopmobility Renfrewshire discusses the steps they take to ensure that service users are armed with the vital knowledge to navigate our region’s streets

My role is to ensure that the equipment is used safely. Along with that, myself and the office manager Karen undertake street surveys to look out for things like drop kerbs to ensure that things are in place for not only mobility scooters and wheelchairs, but anyone who’s disabled. 

Beyond that, it’s up to me to make sure that people feel confident when using the mobility scooter. At times, people can be a little apprehensive. Most users haven’t driven before and then they’re suddenly going out into the streets and on pavements.

I highlight everything that goes along with using them, or even an electric wheelchair for that matter. It’s all about guaranteeing that they’re safe before they take it out. 

There’s a safety video which is available online at the moment which was filmed at the beginning of the year. It highlights all the important aspects and gives tips on things like safety checks that ensure everything is alright before you set off.

There are two different types of tyres and this talks through what you should be looking for with both, alongside checking lights, brakes, power levels, high vis and other things that are important to get you where you’re going and back again. 

With the dark nights, it’s so important that you are seen as there’s been a few fatalities where people using mobility scooters have been hit while crossing the roads. That might not necessarily have been why, but it’s important to be noticeable and that you draw attention to traffic and pedestrians. 

When people come for the first time, we want to make sure they’re comfortable and confident, as well as guaranteeing they’ve got our phone number in case they need us for anything. 

In terms of the street surveys, the council have thankfully been very receptive to what we’ve done and taken action when we’ve highlighted issues. A prime example was Moss Street where there was only a singular drop kerb from School Wynd on down to cross the road.

Then, there were industrial bins on pavements, parking and things like that. It’s a bugbear and a hazard that leaves people with no room to manoeuvre and to drop down a normal kerb would damage the scooter. So, we highlighted these points and fair play to them, they took action. 

Our scooters are free to anyone during the day or £5 per night. You can even take them on holiday and we’ll ensure you’ve got everything you need before you head off on your trip. 

For more information on Shopmobility Renfrewshire and all their great work, visit their website.