William Merritt Disabled Living Centre, Leeds

31/10/2025

Notice of our Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 25th November 2025
11am - 4pm with buffet lunch

This event is a great opportunity to connect with members, staff, trustees and share ideas. Representatives from Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, the charity Special Effect, and William Merritt Centre will speak about adapted technology, support for theory tests, and returning to driving after knee surgery.

Don't miss out on this chance to be part of our important decision-making process and learn more about our plans for the year ahead.

Please click below to register your attendance

Let's gather for our yearly get-together at the Annual General Meeting to discuss all things important to William Merritt Centre!

29/10/2025

World Stroke Day - 29th October 2025

The World Stroke Organisation aims to drive public awareness of stroke symptoms and the need to .

With 1 in 4 of us at risk of stroke in our lifetime, it's in everyone's interest to know the signs of stroke. Time lost is brain lost and seeking emergency care as soon as symptoms are spotted saves lives and can enable treatments that improve our chances of a full recovery.

Learn the signs of strokes
https://www.world-stroke.org/world-stroke-day-campaign/spot-stroke/videos

We help many stroke survivors with mobility and driving assessments.

1 in 4 of us will have a stroke in our lifetime. Knowing more about prevention and symptoms of stroke could save millions of lives, including yours. Watch the series of videos to complete your knowledge

27/10/2025

Our popular neurodiversity training for approved driving instructors (ADIs) is fully booked for the next date – 18th April 2026. This very affordable specialist day course provides ADIs who work with neurodiverse learners the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding and learn practical techniques to better support their students.

Dr. Julia Makin MBE will be leading the course. She is an Approved Driving Instructor who specialises in teaching neurodiverse pupils and brings valuable insights from her own lived experience of neurodiversity.

If driving instructors would like to participate and enhance their skills to better assist their pupils, they are invited to email us at info@wmdlc.org. If there is sufficient interest, we hope to schedule another course on 19th April 2026. It will be a day course at the Centre in Rodley.

23/10/2025

A huge congratulations to ...

Paisley who passed her driving test at the York test centre, it was an excellent drive and the examiner gave some wonderfully positive feedback.

Paisley originally contacted the William Merritt Centre as she wanted to try using hand controls, She had an assessment was recommended Push / Pull Hand controls with indicator toggle and a steering ball.

After her first lesson Paisley said the relief of not having to think about her foot movement was huge and this meant she could fully focus on the road and what was happening around her.

Well done Paisley, your perseverance and hard work has paid off and you’re a great driver.

23/10/2025

Free Wheelchair Skills Course

At our Centre from 27th Jan 2026

For more information and to book please see below.

16/10/2025

We’re delighted to share that William is now driving independently again! 👏
Well done to everyone involved — and congratulations, William!

Find your local Driving Mobility centre here:
🔗 https://vist.ly/4ak2v

14/10/2025

🌟 Happy Allied Health Professionals Day! 🌟

Today we’re celebrating the incredible work of Allied Health Professionals across the UK — dedicated experts who make a real difference every single day.

At The William Merritt Centre, we’re proud to be part of this diverse and skilled community. Our Occupational Therapists and wider assessment team work collaboratively to support independence, promote safety, and enhance quality of life for every individual we assess.

👏 A huge thank you to our team and to all AHPs making a positive impact across health, social care, and the community — your compassion, expertise, and commitment truly change lives. 💙

09/10/2025

Looking to Donate a Pre-Loved Mobility Item?

We sell pre-loved wheelchairs and mobility scooters from our Shopmobility unit at the White Rose Shopping Centre. We're always grateful for donations of pre loved mobility equipment.

If you have a pre-loved item in good condition and want it to go to a worthy new home, please think of us!
You can get in touch at shopmobilityWR@wmdlc.org — we'd love to hear from you.

07/10/2025

We are thrilled to introduce our new interactive information booklets. Discover how our free services can empower the people of Yorkshire to enable greater independence.

Click here to explore them: https://wmdlc.org/william-merritt-centre-digital-flipbooks/

03/10/2025

Driving assessment and lessons feedback:

"I would like to thank everyone at the William Merritt Centre for the help they have given me in changing my driving to hand controls only.

It was very stressful and daunting for me after 50 years on driving, a change like this to me was massive.

From the moment I contacted William Merritt I was given so much support and help, everyone I spoke to was so understanding, kind, and patient, nothing was too much trouble, they were so helpful and very approachable.

They looked at my needs and suggested alternative adaptions that were available, which was very helpful. They introduced me to an experienced instructor and after some lessons I had my final assessment and was ready to drive safely on my own.

Going through a big change like this was a good experience as I had support and encouragement during this period.
Thank you William Merritt for all your help and support"

02/10/2025

🚘👏 At The William Merritt Centre, we love showcasing how the right adaptations can make all the difference in empowering safe and independent driving.

Here’s Mike, one of our fantastic Approved Driving Instructors and Assessor, demonstrating the Lodgesons Lollipop secondary control switching unit. This clever piece of technology allows drivers with limited mobility to operate essential vehicle controls at the touch of a button – all while keeping their focus on the road.

It’s all about safety, confidence, and independence – making driving accessible for everyone.

💡 Want to know more about how our team can help you explore the right driving adaptations? Get in touch today – we’re here to support your journey to safe independence.

01/10/2025

This adjustable bed is now at our Centre in Leeds and can be trialed as part of a FREE bed assessment.

Hiring options are also available.

https://www.laybrook.com/adjustable-beds-divans/turning-adjustable-single-bed-18-stone-489

Find out more
https://wmdlc.org/services/mobility-aid-assessments/at-home/