With a new store recently opened in Phillip, Independent Living Specialists are excited to bring their passion for improving people’s lives to Canberra.

FROM helping a three-year-old girl turn her head to reintroducing an elderly gentleman to what’s most important to him, Independent Living Specialists (ILS) are passionate about improving the lives of people in need.

The new store, which recently opened in Phillip, is part of a national chain that provides leading mobility and homecare equipment including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walking aids, lift chairs, hospital beds, daily living aids and much more.

Store manager Peter Corbett says it’s “incredibly rewarding” to be part of a team who help care for and improve the lives of people in the community.

“Some people are coming out of hospital because they’ve got a planned surgery, other people might wake up all of a sudden and their lives have changed completely,” he says.

“We want to provide products that can help them in their lives going forward as much as possible.”

People are free to trial the products in store, and in certain circumstances, at home with a referral.

Silvia Gonzalez, an occupational therapist of six years, says some of this equipment can be the difference between living at home or being in a nursing home.

“As people, we like to be independent, we like to be able to do things ourselves. A lot of the time this equipment and these aids can help someone to have that independence again,” she says.

“Having this equipment also means there’s less manual handling for family carers or paid carers to help that person to do their daily activities.”

Silvia, who was inspired to pursue a career where she could make a difference in people’s lives, says her job is one she learns from every day.

“No person is the same, they all have their own circumstances and we work with them individually based on their goals and needs,” she says.

“For example, think of someone who had a stroke and now they’ve got weakness down one side of their body. They are going to have to learn how to do everything one-handed.

“How are they going to cook? How are they going to eat and drink? All those things matter and that’s what we try to help with.”

Silvia says that sometimes even the smallest improvement can make the biggest difference to a person’s wellbeing.

“I had a gentleman who was discharged from hospital to an aged-care facility, and he had just a manual wheelchair, but he had a stroke so he couldn’t push himself,” she says.

“We eventually tried a powered wheelchair with him and you should have seen the smile on his face when he could leave his room by himself for the first time, let alone get to the shops because all he wanted was some hot tabasco sauce.

“The wheelchair opened up a whole range of possibilities for him, the difference a bit of equipment can make is huge.”

While Silvia and Peter say the equipment can be life-changing for elderly people, they also say there’s a bit of misperception that the products are only for older individuals.

“There’s one three-year-old girl at the moment and she has a powerchair and she can now move herself, and to be able to look around while she’s still developing, that’s super important,” says Silvia.

“The joy on her face when realising she can move, she can turn to where a voice is coming from and have that interaction, it’s amazing.”

Peter says ILS encourages people to not be embarrassed to ask questions, as the experienced team always strives to make people feel as comfortable as possible.

“There are things we take for granted to be able to do physically, and we want to provide solutions for those who can’t do those things,” he says.

“That could be equipment that’s helping someone with things as simple as eating or clipping their nails, because they can’t bend down due to back issues.

“It’s a very rewarding feeling to think that someone is going to walk out of this store and hopefully be in a better position than when they walked in.”

Independent Living Specialists, units 3-4, 25 Dundas Court, Phillip. Call 9044 1333, email canberra@ilsau.com.au or visit ilsau.com.au