Search Results

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Keith Gilbey, who died peacefully on Saturday, 2nd May, after a few months of courageously living with cancer. Keith had been a beloved part of The Brightwell family since the beginning of 2013, more than a decade of quiet, dedicated service that touched the lives of so many. He was a volunteer driver, a steadfast supporter, and, perhaps most importantly, a dear friend. Keith, who lived in Weston Super Mare, began his journey with us by driving members from North Somerset to the new Centre, many of whom had come to us from our previous site in Nailsea. For those passengers, he was often their first and last friendly face of the day, and nothing was ever too much trouble for Keith. He was warm, chatty, and always had a tale to tell! Many of you will instantly picture him at his favourite spot, the first table by the shop in the lounge, where he would settle in happily for hours, greeting members old and new as he waited for them to finish their therapies. When he wasn’t driving, you would find him deep in his newspaper, working through his daily crossword with Gus and other members to help. He was also a familiar and enthusiastic presence at Centre events, and a formidable regular at our Quiz evenings! Keith became unwell before Christmas, and when living alone grew difficult, he was lovingly taken in by his close friends, the Norley family, themselves valued members of our Brightwell community, before moving into residential care at Beaufort Grange. He spent his final weeks there contentedly and was regularly visited by his Brightwell friends right up until the end. Keith will have a private cremation. A Special Tribute During Volunteers' Week Our volunteers are at the very heart of this community, and Keith embodied everything a great volunteer should be; kind, friendly, reliable, and utterly committed. It feels only right, then, to celebrate his life during Volunteers' Week (1–7 June). As part of our tributes to all our wonderful volunteers, we will be honouring Keith as one of our Star Volunteers, and we warmly invite his Centre friends to join us for tea and cake on Thursday, 4th June at 2 pm. All members are welcome. Thank you, Keith, for everything. Rest in peace.

On Friday 15 May, The Brightwell’s 4th Annual Charity Abseil Day took place at the fantastic Village Hotel in Filton, and what an unforgettable day it was. For the fourth year running, the incredible Village Hotel team once again planned and delivered an exceptional event. This year, they truly went above and beyond. From providing delicious food and refreshing beverages for participants, to organising a lively DJ and an exciting raffle packed with fantastic prizes, every detail was thoughtfully handled to ensure a memorable and successful day for everyone involved. A special mention also goes to Enchanted Balloons Bristol, who created a beautiful, on brand balloon arch that added a perfect celebratory touch to the day. A huge highlight of the event was, of course, the abseil itself. The expert team at Remote Outdoors proved yet again why they are the very best in their field. Their professionalism, encouragement, and warm approach ensured that every participant felt safe, confident, and supported as they took on the challenge. We were thrilled to see over 30 brave individuals step up, harness in, and descend an impressive 65 feet down the hotel, all in support of our charity. In the lead up to the big day, these amazing abseilers collectively raised over £3,000, showcasing incredible dedication and generosity. Among those taking part were some of our wonderful members, Debbie, Tania and Rachel, whose courage and determination were truly inspiring. We could not be prouder of their achievement. A special shoutout also goes to the Waylands Volvo team, who provided personalised Waylands x Brightwell abseil t-shirts for each of their team members and showed incredible determination by taking on the descent even when the weather turned and the rain set in. The excitement did not stop there. Our on the day raffle featured some incredible prizes, including overnight stays at the Village Hotel, generously donated alongside other fantastic contributions. Thanks to the raffle and additional fundraising during the event, we raised even more on the day. In total, we are delighted to share that an incredible £3,900 was raised to support our work, an achievement that reflects the effort, enthusiasm and kindness of everyone involved. Our Thanks Events like this would not be possible without the support of so many amazing people and organisations. A massive thank you goes to The Village Hotel Team, Remote Outdoors, Waylands Volvo Bristol, The Bristol Pitbulls, DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre, Enchanted Balloons Bristol, Jolly Roger DJ, and of course our brilliant members, especially Debbie, Tania and Rachel. Your support, energy and generosity made this event truly special. We are so grateful to everyone who took part, donated, volunteered and cheered on our abseilers. We cannot wait to do it all again, see you next year! 🎉

On Thursday, 30 April, a large group of volunteers from the Lloyds Banking Group came to undertake several much-needed tasks at the Centre. Over the Years, Lloyds Banking Group has provided several hardworking volunteer groups, and this latest team was no exception! Several housekeeping and maintenance jobs needed attention, including clearing an access path and cleaning windows. However, a major project was to clear an area at the side of the building. This area has become very overgrown over the years, and we needed to clear this space for a significant project we are about to undertake. This major project is to resurface our garden path. Over the past 15 months, this has been a difficult issue with several contractors trying to lay a “hogging” path similar to the original one. However, despite numerous ideas and attempts, this was not a success. The path will shortly be re-laid with a smooth tarmac finish, which will give full access to all our wheelchair users. However, to keep costs as low as possible, we needed to find somewhere to put all the huge amount of hogging that will be replaced. This is how we will use the newly cleared area. Once the hogging has been put there, we can flatten it out so that the area can be used as an additional outdoor storage space. Check out some of our before and after photos… We would like to give a massive thanks to Jo Rapeer and her team, plus our amazing Steve Fitt, who came back to the Centre to oversee the day’s activities. We will update you about the installation date for the new surface, plus there is even more exciting news to follow!

Invitation to our 2026 AGM on 28 May We warmly invite all members, volunteers, and friends to join us for our Annual General Meeting, taking place in person at The Brightwell or on Zoom on Thursday, 28 May, from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm. At the AGM, the Chair of Trustees, Geoff Mayell, will give his review of 2025 and share our plans and ambitions for 2026 and beyond. Steve Cocks, our Treasurer Trustee, will give an overview of the year's finances and Doro, our CEO, will give a presentation on the therapy numbers, membership and services delivered. It will be a wonderful opportunity to hear how the Centre is growing and to celebrate everything we have achieved together. We will also be taking a moment during the AGM to remember our dear friend and fellow Trustee Mark Whitehouse, who passed away earlier this year. Mark gave so much of his time and expertise to The Brightwell over many years, and we will be holding a two-minute silence in his honour. Anyone who would like to stay and celebrate his memory with us afterwards is very welcome to do so. Please can you call Reception on 01454 201686 or email hello@thebrightwell.org.uk to confirm that you will be attending or to send your apologies. We do hope you can join us.

My name is Charles Edis. I have been a long-term supporter of The Brightwell, I am Company Secretary to the Board and a Trustee. When I fractured my fibula (lower leg) in late October, it was a couple of weeks later that Doro, our CEO, suggested Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) might help with healing. After 13 years involved at The Brightwell, and my mother visiting long before me, I should have thought of it, but I hadn’t! I was sent forms to complete beforehand, explaining HBOT. Angela, the Centre’s Oxygen Coordinator, then went through everything with me and registered me as a member on my first visit. (Do allow plenty of extra time for this). I didn’t give myself enough time before my first visit, so everyone was waiting for me when I arrived. The recommendation is that you arrive 15 minutes ahead of the session start time. Fortunately, I could limp in with my fracture boot. I was given a suitable mask and instructions on how to put it on and adjust it, which takes a bit of fiddling the first time. Some people prefer their own masks, but I used one provided by the centre. The chamber is cosy and comfortable once you’re settled in. I was given a footstool to keep my leg elevated and reduce swelling. Once we were securely locked in, following a safety briefing, communications with the operators were checked. The chamber is then pressurised, which can be quite noisy depending on your seat relative to the inlet valve. It takes about 15 minutes to get to 2ata (atmospheres absolute - P4). Earplugs and headphones are not allowed during pressurisation and depressurisation; however you can use headphones when the chamber is at pressure. Having some reading material handy is helpful because while everyone is friendly, conversation becomes difficult with masks on. Another thing to expect is that the chamber can feel quite warm when pressurised but quickly cold again when de-pressurised. Therefore, an easily removable extra layer is advisable. However, a pullover would require removing your mask, which is attached to tubes on either side, so a cardigan or similar might be better. The other things to be aware of are how to ‘clear’ your ears to prevent discomfort from the pressure, all part of the advance briefing, which is akin to a plane landing (when the chamber is pressurised) and a plane taking off (when de-pressurising). After an hour, the operators will announce the impending depressurisation, which takes 10-15 minutes and is also quite noisy. Afterwards, you might feel cold and sweaty but after getting everyone out of the chamber one at a time, depending on their condition, it does not take very long to re-acclimatise: This might involve a nice cup of tea and a cake from the onsite Brightwell Café. In all, I had five HBOT sessions, fairly quick in succession, as this supposedly improves the chances of injured tissues healing quickly. I couldn’t make one appointment due to an incident on the motorway, but it was easy to re-book. I live over an hour away, and was fortunate that my long-suffering wife drove me everywhere for a couple of months. I certainly believe my broken leg made more than satisfactory progress. However, it’s impossible to measure this precisely without someone else of similar age, gender and stature having exactly the same spiral fracture in the same place at the same time and not receiving HBOT for comparison. I’m still doing physiotherapy several months later on medical advice because that is the standard approach to my particular injury. I would definitely recommend HBOT at Brightwell to anyone in a similar situation. In fact would probably suggest continuing follow-up appointments over an extended period, but do consult the experts on these matters. Unfortunately, I live too far away for regular follow-up appointments to be very convenient. Like many, I always enjoy visiting The Brightwell with the positive atmosphere and diverse range of people I meet there. It’s encouraging to see so many long-standing supporters who regularly attend as well. I hope this piece has been helpful to anyone considering trying HBOT for the first time. If you’re able to help keep the Centre running in these challenging economic and increasingly regulatory times, whether as a volunteer, trustee or donor, or even if you know someone who could benefit from our help and therapies, or if you have any suggestions, please get in touch with any member of our team. Email: hello@thebrightwell.org.uk Tel: 01454 201 686 Further information about Oxygen Therapy can be found at The Brightwell www.thebrightwell.org.uk/oxygen-therapy

We are very pleased to be able to offer our members and non-members living with MS the opportunity to receive support from Caroline Langdon. Caroline has expert knowledge in helping people with all aspects of benefit queries. Caroline can assist you with: Eligibility Queries Helping with the completion of forms Availability of benefits ·And much more… For general enquiries, an appointment will last one hour. For help completing forms, a two-hour appointment will be needed. All appointments are completely confidential. The next date will be on Tuesday, 5 May. Appointments need to be booked in advance. Please call Reception on 01454 201 686 For more information about the Specialist Clinics we offer, please visit https://www.thebrightwell.org.uk/therapies/specialist-clinics

We are looking for a new Trustee to join our Board, and this time we're hoping to find someone with a background in IT and digital systems. As a Trustee, you would be helping to make sure the Brightwell is secure, modern and making the most of technology, so that we can keep growing and reaching even more people who need our support. It is a voluntary role, with quarterly Board meetings and around six hours of your time per month. You don't need experience of charity trusteeship, full training and induction is provided. What matters most is a passion for what we do and some expertise in areas like cyber security, digital strategy, website management or data systems. Is this you? or maybe a family member, a colleague or a friend? if anyone springs to mind, we'd love to hear from them. For a full copy of the Trustee Role Description click below. If you're interested or want to find out more, please drop me an email at doro.pasantes@thebrightwell.org.uk

The Brightwell is delighted to be hosting a monthly Coffee Morning here at the Centre. This event is organised by the MS Society and is aimed at all parents affected by MS living in the Bristol area. WHEN: The first Thursday of every month from 10.00 – 11.30am WHERE: Brightwell Centre, Bradbury House, Wheatfield Dr, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 9DB Kids welcome Free parking Refreshments available from on-site cafe Please  click here to check out a video of parents who are already benefitting from being part of this new community group We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 7 May for our next get together. Contact Maria for more information: bristol@mssociety.org.uk

image courtesy of Freepix At The Brightwell, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is offered as a specialised service to help athletes and fitness enthusiasts accelerate recovery from sports injuries. While the charity primarily supports individuals with neurological conditions, their oxygen therapy suite is open to the public for "non-neurological" needs, including sports rehabilitation. ​ Benefits for Sports Injuries HBOT involves breathing almost 100% pure oxygen in a pressurised chamber. At The Brightwell, this is used to: Accelerate Healing : By increasing the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood plasma, it reaches damaged tissues, ligaments, and tendons more effectively than normal breathing. Reduce Inflammation : It helps decrease swelling and oedema in injured areas. Stimulate Repair:  The therapy promotes the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and collagen production, essential for recovering from fractures or soft tissue tears. Faster "Return to Play":  Many users see noticeable benefits after approximately 5 sessions, significantly shortening recovery time compared to rest alone. ​ Pricing & Membership Because The Brightwell is a charity, their sports injury services are not subsidised like their neurological treatments, but they are priced competitively: Registration/Membership Fee: £50 (for non-neurological/sports users). Session Cost: Approximately £30 per 1-hour session. Availability: Sessions are available 50 weeks a year (closed briefly over Christmas). ​ How to Get Started Enquiry : Contact the "Member Journey Officer" at 01454 201686 or email hello@thebrightwell.org.uk . Registration : You will need to complete a Sports Injury Registration Form, which can be downloaded from our  Join Us page. Assessment : You may be required to have a brief clinical assessment or chat to ensure HBOT is safe for you (e.g., checking for ear/sinus issues or certain heart conditions). The Chamber:  The Brightwell uses a "multi-place" chamber with 7 seats, meaning you sit comfortably in a shared room-like environment while breathing oxygen through a mask. All staff and volunteers are fully trained and experienced in dealing with sports injuries. For further information, please visit Website : www.thebrightwell.org.uk/oxygen-therapy

At The Brightwell, we are absolutely delighted to announce the completion of a long-term project that has been over five years in the making: the total conversion of our Centre’s lighting to LED. This milestone is a massive achievement in our ongoing Sustainability Pledge , and it marks a significant step toward our ultimate goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035. A Journey of Five Years Great things take time, and for a charity like ours, they also require careful financial planning. This project began half a decade ago, and because of the costs involved, we approached it in stages as funds were raised. We began with the exterior, converting our car park and building lights to ensure a safe and bright welcome for our service users. From there, we moved inside, upgrading the Oxygen Suite and then our Physiotherapy areas. When our lounge and new offices were constructed, LED lighting was built-in from the start, setting the standard for the rest of the building. Today, we have finally crossed the finish line. The final stage covering the corridors, the original offices, our smaller treatment rooms, and all toilet facilities, is now complete. Powered by Community Support We could not have reached this goal without the incredible generosity of our corporate partners and supporters. A special mention must go to Howards Motor Group , the founding members of our Brightwell 100 Corporate Network . Howards Motor Group kindly sponsored our very first outdoor LED project years ago, and they have once again stepped up with a significant contribution to fund this final stage. Their long-term commitment to our centre has been instrumental in making this vision a reality. We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Solarsense , MS People’s Help , and the many other donors and supporters who have contributed to our sustainability fund over the years. A Greener (and More Cost-Effective) Future Completing the LED conversion is about more than just new bulbs; it’s about environmental responsibility and financial resilience. By switching to LED, our lighting bills are now a staggering 78% cheaper. These savings are vital, as they allow us to redirect more of our precious funds directly into the care and support of our service users. This project sits alongside our other major green initiatives, including: A vast array of Solar Panels Three 14kw Tesla Batteries for energy storage Our very own Oxygen Generation Plant, reducing the need for deliveries and heavy transport. The Road to 2035 While we have "ticked a massive box" with this project, our work isn't finished. We have several smaller projects currently underway as we continue to refine our operations and reduce our environmental footprint. A massive shout out and thank you to Paul Williams and his excellent team from Kubix who carried out the work with the minimum amount of disruption to everything going on here at our busy Centre. Every light we switch on today is a reminder of what we can achieve when our community comes together. Thank you for helping us shine a light on a more sustainable future!

On Monday, 13 April, many of our staff and Oxygen volunteers took part in an important safety and knowledge training session. This session was taken by one of our senior oxygen operators, Howard Cheatham. Howard is also a Trustee for The Neuro Therapy Network. The training focused on some vital technical and emergency procedures. Although many of the attendees were experienced operators, we also welcomed some newer volunteers. This session was well attended, and there was a lot of interaction and interesting observations from the participants. It was a particularly busy day at The Brightwell, as we also had our annual fire inspection, so not only did we have lots of additional people in our Oxygen Suite, we also had firemen throughout the centre! It was all very exciting with fire engines on-site and lots of alarm testing! Thank you to everybody who had to change their sessions due to this training. If you would like to find out more about the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy that we offer, please visit www.thebrightwell.org.uk/oxygen-therapy