MERU (charity)
MERU (“Medical Engineering Resource Unit”) is a children’s charity based in the United Kingdom which designs and manufactures specialist equipment for disabled children to help them with learning, leisure and quality of life. The charity is based in Epsom in Surrey with a catchment area of London and the South East of England . MERU does not produce equipment that is already commercially available.
MERU is funded by a mix of grant-giving trusts, statutory services, individual donors, community groups, and fees that it charges for some of its products and services. The charity’s patrons are Richard Stilgoe and interior designer and television personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, whose father was one of the charity’s founders.
History
In 1963, William Bond, Senior Lecturer in Engineering Design at the Borough Polytechnic, London, organised a club for those interested in engineering challenges faced by the field of disability. Trefor Llewellyn Bowen (father of Laurence) began attending in 1970 in order to discuss equipment design for disabled children. In 1973 a converted hospital building at Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children in Carshalton was opened as the headquarters for a Department of Medical Engineering. Grants enabled the employment of further technicians and funded modern workshops, and by 1988 the Medical Engineering Resource Unit had outgrown its premises and a larger building was provided. MERU’s emphasis shifted over time from caring for children with disabilities to supporting them in the community, and so its service expanded. In 1993 MERU moved to Damson Way in Orchard Hill. In January 2009 it moved again to Epsom.
Catchment
MERU works with those who are:
- Aged from birth up to and including 24 years of age.
- Affected by a permanent or long-term disability.
- Referred to them by, or with the support of, a suitable medical professional who knows and has worked with the young person. For example: a paediatrician, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or speech and language therapist.
- Requiring an item not available commercially - i.e. it cannot be bought on the marketplace.
- Living and/or going to school or college in London and the South East.
Services
MERU provides the following services for young disabled people:
- Communication and control
- Lifestyle assistance
- Early years mobility, including Bugzi, a powered wheelchair for children as young as one year old up to five.
- Information and advice