A PILOT which sees the elderly pimping their walkers has come to Bolton.

Therapy staff at care facility Laburnum Lodge have turned their creative hands to an innovative new programme to reduce accidents.

The team at the Bolton Council-owned Breightmet home has been ‘pimping up’ patients’ zimmers.

The Pimp My Zimmer activity scheme was developed in care homes in Essex last year in a bid to reduce falls amongst patients, particularly those with dementia.

Designed for a small group of patients, they are provided with craft supplies and supported by therapists to decorate their walking aids however they wish.

As well as visually encouraging patients to identify and use their walking aids and hence reduce falls, it also increases patient interaction and improves motor skills and concentration.

Jennifer Sharples, a team leader and physiotherapist at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The pilot programme was a great success, we’re really pleased with how our patients have got involved and the impact it has had on their mobility.

“Preventing falls is a huge priority for the trust, and this project is just one way in which we are working to improve patient safety through reducing falls.”

Since the programme was launched in February the team have reported no falls amongst the pilot group of patients, and they plan to introduce it with new groups of patients.

They also hope to roll it out at Darley Court, which is owned by Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and run by both trust and Bolton Council staff.