Residents have had their traditionally bland walking frames ‘pimped up’ by their young friends at Abbotsholme School.

The children have been making brightly-coloured pom-poms and sparkly stars in their weekly visits to us.

The decorations have been used to brighten up the grey Zimmer frames many of the residents use.  The youngsters have also been wrapping them in colourful streamers and personalising them with people’s names.

National project

‘Pimp my Zimmer’ is a national initiative started by a care worker in Essex who realised residents often struggled to identify their own walking frame.

The scheme, which began in 2015, is also designed to improve mobility and has helped reduce falls in some homes by 60%.

“This has been fantastic fun for us and the children,” said Barrowhill Hall’s activities coordinator Val Barnes.

“The children visit us every Monday afternoon and they’ve really enjoyed bringing some colour to what is an extremely dull but hugely important piece of equipment.”

The children visit Churnet Lodge which offers residential care and care for people in the early stages of dementia.

“We are yet to see what impact the pimped up frames will have on people’s mobility,” said Val, “but we are seeing a change in people’s mood – the bright colours and the memories of the fun they had decorating them put a smile on their faces and that’s lovely to see.”

“I’m proud of my frame.”

97 year old Peggy Hughes has enjoyed the experience with six year old Rory and four year old Jensen.

“We’ve had such a lot of fun together,” she said.  “Mine is covered in pink and blue pom-poms, I’ve got stickers and pink bows and stars.

“I would never choose to use something grey but walking frames don’t come in any other colours!  I’m proud of it, I want to get up and move so I can show it off!”