Why go it alone.

Derbyshire Royal Infirmary Amputee Liaison nurse, Barbara Edmunds, had for a long time, since taking up the post, had a desire to see a social group for amputees. Not so much as a support group, but a social group where people who have one thing in common could come together and enjoy each others company. Obviously as people meet together they do support one another, but not necessarily by talking about their loss of a limb. In 2006 Barbara started to look for a venue in the Derby area where a group could meet, but found that most hotels would charge a substantial amount per evening, which made them unacceptable. Then she struck lucky with the Alexander Hotel which is central to Derby and offered to allow the group to have exclusive use of one of the bar areas once a month for free.

Barbara next contacted several amputees to see if they would be interested in taking the project forward. It was always Barbara's intention that she would act as a facilitator and once things were under way she would withdraw to allow the group to continue on its' own. In December 2006 several amputees from Derby came together for the formation meeting of the Derby Amputee Club. 

Graham, Peter, Jill, Janet, and Lisa, became the founding members and a constitution was drawn up. A committee was formed and Barbara initially took the role as the Chair Person.  The idea became a reality after seven years of germination, and the Derby Evening Telegraph were invited to run an article on the formation of the club, which they duly did.

The club started to meet initially on a bi-monthly basis in the new year of 2007 and it was not long before several members were added to the group. Shortly after this the husband of one of the members offered to build a website for the club and email addresses were added along with a mobile phone number to enable people to communicate with the fledgling club. Donations from the Ilkeston Lions and the Derby CVS enabled the club to develop and these were soon subsidised by other gifts from members and fund raising events.

The committee has changed over the following years and the club has matured to provide a good base for the members. In 2008 we added a role for an Events Coordinator and a Befriending Officer, which has led to a more substantial programme and caring membership. The club had also changed from meeting once every two months, to a monthly meeting.

From the inaugural meeting of Amputee Social Club that took place at the Alexandra Hotel in Siddals Road, Derby on Tuesday, January 16th  we have seen a positive development and Barbara has not only been rewarded by seeing her vision fulfilled, but she has continued to function as a valued committee member.