DLF's 'Living Made Easy' Advice Portal Shortlisted For The Finals Of The eWell-Being Awards 2009

Published by Domonique Bray for AKW MediCare Ltd in Housing

AKW are pleased to announce that the national charity which they sponsor; Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) has been shortlisted for the SustainIT’s eWell-Being Awards 2009 in the Independent Living category for its new online advice and information portal, ‘Living made easy’.

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 certain Codes of Conduct. Users can also share experiences with each other, reviewing and rating products themselves and expressing their views 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 “Having won this award last year for our advice tool AskSARA, we are thrilled that another DLF initiative has been nominated for an eWell-Being Award and especially in 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 to access such information was 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. Furthermore, we hope that the rating system will help drive change in the equipment industry by encouraging manufacturers and suppliers to become more open about pricing and improve their standards by signing up to Codes of Conduct".

The eWell-Being Awards were launched in 2002 by SustainIT, an initiative of the UK Centre for Economic and Environmental Development (UK CEED). The awards, this year sponsored by BT, Unison and PC Pro, are designed to promote the tangible benefits that ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) can bring to society, the economy and to the environment. This year over 100 entries from a diverse range of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors were received, the judges then went on to decide upon 32 finalists. The winners will be announced at an awards event at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in London on Wednesday 17th June.

Living made easy is funded by the Department of Health, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and industry supporters including AKW MediCare.

For further information about Living made easy please visit www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk. To find out more about the eWell-Being Awards visit www.sustainitawards.co.uk or call SustainIT on 01733 311644.