The Story Behind Fenetic Wellbeing And How The Retailer Aims To Bridge A Gap In The Market For Accessible And Affordable Mobility Solutions

Record demand and the UK’s ageing population continues to squeeze health and social care services in the UK as they both face significant capacity issues. According to NHS England data released in February 2024, there were between 13,000 and 14,200 patients in UK hospitals each day who did not meet requirements to stay. Delayed discharges are one of the major contributing factors for these capacity issues, as thousands of people do not have accessible, suitable and affordable support in place to allow them to return home and live independently.

Tom Appelbee, Co-founder of Fenetic Wellbeing, discusses the story behind the Skipton-based, award-winning mobility business and its ongoing mission to support and bridge the gap in the care market to support independent living and deliver accessible, high-quality and affordable mobility solutions.

The Fenetic Wellbeing story

Founded in 2009, Fenetic Wellbeing has grown from its humble beginnings of an attic in Keighley to its newly opened modern and interactive 30,000 sq ft warehouse and showroom in Skipton. Since its launch, the business has enjoyed sustained growth along with picking up coveted awards from the likes of Which? and now boasts more than 500,000 satisfied customers nationwide.

Having steadily risen in popularity before the pandemic, demand for mobility products to support safe and independent living has increased significantly over recent years, due in part to added pressures on health and social care services. Myself and Graeme Firth, Co-founder of Fenetic Wellbeing remain focused on providing wellbeing solutions to relieve this growing pressure on the UK’s health and social care services, supporting independent living and providing affordable products to allow people to return from hospital and live safely at home.

In the last 15 years, the business has expanded from its initial product offering of smaller wheelchair accessories to a varied collection of more than 200 mobility products, ranging from electric scooters, walking aids, stairlifts and beds. Over the years, Fenetic has been awarded several industry accreditations including the Which? Trusted Trader accolade, which the business has held for more than five years, and British Healthcare Trades Association certification, which highlights the high quality products available.

Bridging the gap

In May 2024 alone, the most common reasons for delay for patients who have been in hospital for seven days or more was due to delays on further support being available at home, this alone contributed to 23 percent of delayed discharges.

When a patient no longer needs care in hospital, delaying discharge can negatively impact their recovery, while also increasing their risk of hospital-acquired infections. It was estimated that the direct cost of delayed hospital discharges between 2022 and 2023 for the NHS was £1.9 billion.

Mobility solutions can help remove obstacles for at home care and drive forward fast and efficient hospital discharge. Purchasing these products to support rehabilitation and provide additional support as you return home from hospital should be simple, however, there are often several barriers to this, including affordability, installation and home delivery. From the outset, our mission at Fenetic Wellbeing has been to provide solutions to prevent delayed discharge and ensure people living with mobility issues can remain or return home to live safely and independently.

Since opening the bespoke showroom in early 2024, Fenetic now offers 1-2-1 appointments with OT Assessor qualified staff, whereby consumers can try out the full portfolio of products to ensure they get the very best product for their needs and wellbeing challenges and support independent living.

Supporting independent living

Allowing people to live independently at home for longer and discharging individuals away from frontline services is the optimum goal for local authorities, the NHS and citizens alike. This promotes a better quality of life for the individual and their families whilst local authorities maximise the financial and resourcing benefits. As Fenetic continues to grow, this mission is one that underpins all business strategy and we continue to support independent living and an improved quality of life for those living with mobility needs.

Finding the right at home solutions benefits a huge number of people and supports improved hospital discharge times and reduced bed blocking. Whether this is the 1-2-1 appointments or follow up facetimes and calls, we’re focused on making sure each customer feels understood and supported to allow them to live safely and independently at home. These solutions aim to help remove obstacles for at-home care to drive improved fast and efficient hospital discharge.

As the business celebrates its 15th year in operation, we’re looking forward to supporting more people as we continue to promote independence and meet the needs of those living with mobility changes.

For most older people, independence is largely tied to remaining in their own homes and benefits older people in many ways, from increased confidence, improved sense of purpose and quality of life. We are focused on continuing to offer a personalised service and affordable product range to meet the needs of those living with mobility challenges to be able to remain at home and live independently.

For more information and to find out more about Fenetic Wellbeing, click here