Family-run mobility aids company Dolphin Lifts Western has moved!

A YEAR of great successes and milestones ended on another high when family-run mobility aids company Dolphin Lifts Western Ltd moved into a new, purpose-built unit and office.

The independent supplier of stairlifts, home lifts, wheelchair access lifts, hoists and ramps has relocated to the fully refurbished, two-storey premises in Britannia Way, Clevedon.

Based in a secure trading estate just minutes off Junction 20 of the M5, the unit boasts 4,000sq ft of storage space alongside modern office facilities, ample parking and a five-metre high drive-in roller door.

The spacious warehouse allows the company to purchase and store more stock than ever before, which in turn enables them to offer an extensive range of products with much shorter lead times.

The building is a vast improvement on the company’s first unit between Portishead and Bristol and tops off a memorable 12 months for the business.

“We are very excited about our new, modern unit in the heart of the West Country,” said Dolphin Lifts Western’s managing director Steve Wakefield, who launched the company with his wife Avril in 1996.

“The secure storage space, workshop facilities and open-plan office is enabling us to take the business from strength to strength by ensuring greater productivity and smoother daily operations.

“The past year or so has been the most prosperous in our 15-year history and thanks to the benefits our new premises brings, the future looks very bright too.”

In late 2010, Steve’s eldest son Tom was appointed director and soon after the company teamed-up with the Bristol Evening Post’s ‘100 apprenticeships in 100 days’ campaign to offer its first trainee position to Scott Coster of Hanham, Bristol.

A month later it received a Certified Quality Systems certificate in recognition of its consistently high standard of both the products and services it provides before being awarded the largest contract in its history – supplying and installing stairlifts and wheelchair access lifts on behalf of Bristol City Council.

Most recently it exhibited at Naidex 2011 – the UK’s largest homecare, disability and rehabilitation event, attracting thousands of healthcare professionals – and six weeks later was named runner up in the Family Business category of the Bristol Evening Post Business Awards out of almost 100 firms that entered from around the south west region. 

Eye's give an insight into Alzheimer's

SIMPLE eye tests could be used to spot the onset of Alzheimer’s, according to newly revealed scientific research.

The breakthrough would represent a major step forward in the management of the degenerative brain condition, which is set to reach 1 million in the UK over the coming decade as the population ages.

Scientists unveiled the findings of research into retinal observations to spot hallmarks of the condition at the American Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Paris this month.

They analysed photographs of the back of subject’s eyes and discovered the width of blood vessels was ‘significantly different’ among Alzheimer’s sufferers compared to healthy people.

Separate research disclosed at the conference involved brain scans to calculate levels of a protein known as amyloid, which is typical of the condition, while the other involved measuring a part of the brain responsible for the formation of new memories, known as the hippocampus.

Another study found that people with early signs of Alzheimer’s are more likely to suffer falls, suggesting that balance and visual perception may decline before memory.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This study adds to previous work suggesting that eye scans could be a useful aid for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.

“These results could lead to a simple and effective method of detecting the condition at a much earlier stage but much more work remains to be done.

“The ability to diagnose Alzheimer’s early is a key target for research - not only would early detection allow people to plan for the future, it would mean potential new treatments could be tested at the earliest stages of the disease, when they are most likely to have an effect.

“With 820,000 people affected by dementia in the UK, we urgently need more research to find better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent dementia.”