National charity the Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) is delighted to announce that its new online advice and information portal, 'Living made easy' , has been shortlisted today for the Charity Times Awards 2009 in the Best Use of the Web category.
‘Living made easy’ (www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk) provides older and disabled people and their carers with information on thousands of items of daily living equipment, enabling products to be compared and informed decisions to be made. The expert advice and information that has been built up by the DLF over the last four decades is now available to the public for the first time via the internet.
The ‘Living made easy’ site includes a tool that rates products based on factors such as whether suppliers have provided a price for a product and signed up to industry Codes of Conduct. Users can also share experiences with each other, reviewing and rating products themselves and expressing their views or asking questions on the forum pages.
Since its launch, ‘Living made easy’ has grown to include information on bathing, the bedroom, the stairs, telecare (gadgets that allow you to live independently at home know that you can raise an alarm to a call centre if you have a problem, eg, if you fall), chairs and children’s equipment. Further sections will be added over the next twelve months including information on household gadgets, toileting and eating and drinking equipment.
Christine Shaw, Chief Executive of the DLF says “We are thrilled that ‘Living made easy’ has been nominated for a prestigious Charity Times Award, especially since it is both their 10th and our 40th anniversary year. ‘Living made easy’ is one of the most important services the DLF has ever launched and we are grateful to our supporters from Government and industry for their assistance in developing the site."
Shaw continues, “With an ageing population the need for independent advice and information is clear and we are delighted that since the ‘Living made easy’ launch we have seen literally hundreds of thousands of people use the site to help them find ways to lead active and independent lives. We hope that our unique rating system will help drive change in the equipment industry by encouraging manufacturers and suppliers to become more open about their pricing and to improve their standards by signing up to Codes of Conduct".
The Charity Times Awards celebrate best practice in the UK charity and not-for-profit sector and this year include extra categories to reflect the changing nature of the sector and the judges confess to looking at the strongest number of award entrants ever. The awards provide the charity sector with a dedicated event to reward the work carried out in difficult and competitive conditions, and establishes a unique annual congress of the pre-eminent figures in the sector.
The winners will be announced on Thursday 9th September 2009 at the Awards Gala Dinner, which will be hosted this year by the comedian Chris Barrie at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London
‘Living made easy’ is funded by the Department of Health, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and industry supporters including Home Retail Group, B&Q, Nottingham Rehab Supplies, Tunstall, Arjo, Mangar International, Mountway, Kingkraft, AKW MediCare, Theraposture, Stannah Stairlifts, Kirton Healthcare, Days Healthcare, Hill-rom, Centromed UK and co-operative Xest .