Collective Ability
Where Science and Complementary Health Meet.

The Helping Hand in Tenerife

Disabled and having difficulty getting around?

We can provide the help that a fit, able-bodied, competent relative or friend would.

“The Helping Hand” Press Release. 12th April, 2005.

Paul and Margarita McElroy first came to Tenerife in January 1999.  Margarita, who had had polio as a toddler and was now suffering the late effects of that illness (extreme exhaustion, sensitivity to cold temperatures and renewed muscle weakness), was completely incapacitated by the British winter and seeking some relief. 

Fortunately, that winter was not like the one just past!  She was “blown away” by how much energy and relief from pain she had in just a week of warm, dry sunny weather and there and then she and Paul decided that they must spend at least the winters here.

But there was a problem.  Accommodation for disabled people was difficult to find, it was hard to get around with few dropped kerbs or accessible buildings in Los Cristianos and (most important of all!) there didn’t seem to be any wheelchair-accessible loos apart from the ones in their hotel.

However, they continued coming and the next year they were able to put down a deposit on an apartment being built in a new complex, have it built to Margarita’s requirements, and move to Tenerife in 2001. 

Since then, the warm climate of this island has dramatically improved Margarita’s health.  Also they have got to know the south of the island much better and have seen facilities for disabled people in South Tenerife slowly but surely improve.  Margarita gives the new disabled loo in the cultural centre in Los Cristianos 9 out of 10 (it misses a perfect score because it’s not open on Sundays).

Fast forward to February of this year: Margarita and a friend were in Los Cristianos town centre when they were approached and asked for help by a young disabled man who appeared to be on the verge of collapse (in fact he did collapse shortly afterwards and had to be taken back to his hotel by ambulance).  Margarita thought that Paul might be able to help, and gave his ‘phone number.

When Paul called on him the next day, he found that the hotel in which Sunil was staying was quite unsuitable for a disabled person and the effort of even minimal activities of daily living was rapidly making him very ill.  Using a spare wheelchair, Paul was quickly able to get him a square meal, hire a scooter for him and find an accessible (and reasonably priced) apartment for him to move into that afternoon.  That apartment was only available for a week so then Paul helped him to move to another apartment nearby.  Other assistance over the next couple of weeks involved finding an electric heater - difficult as this past winter was one of the coolest in living memory and there’d been a run on them! moving around furniture in apartments to suit him, getting in some shopping and helping with emergencies, such as when a scooter broke down immediately inside the front door of the apartment and someone was needed to move it away.  In the meantime, his father, also disabled, arrived and Paul was able to help him as well.  When they returned to Britain, Paul arranged a taxi, accompanied them to the airport and assisted with their luggage.

Paul was most surprised when Sunil became the first customer by insisting on paying him.  “However, I then realised”, he said “that a lot of the jobs I had done for him would be either impossible or exhaustingly time consuming for a disabled person not familiar with the locality, without access to a car and with no knowledge of Spanish”.  He and Margarita realised that there could be an opportunity for services to disabled visitors and so “The Helping Hand” was born. 

The aim of “The Helping Hand” is to provide  the help that a fit, able-bodied, competent relative or friend would.  Says Margarita, “A holiday is often no holiday at all for friends or relatives accompanying a disabled person.  In fact they will often have to work much harder as, at home, a disabled person will usually have organised their living environment exactly to suit their needs whereas even the best adapted hotel accommodation will have the non-existent ‘average’ disabled person in mind.  Bed, chairs, wash-hand basin or toilet just a little too high or low can leave a disabled person, who is independent in their own home, virtually immobilised”.

Imagine that you are a disabled holidaymaker planning your first holiday in Tenerife; how could we help you? (And don’t forget that these services are, of course, also available to residents and, where appropriate, to non-disabled people.)

Arrival at an unfamiliar foreign airport can be daunting for anyone; we can help you with handling luggage, getting a taxi at the and airport and accompany you to your hotel or apartment.  If you need a wheelchair-accessible taxi, we have contacts who can arrange that too.  Once there, we can help with settling into the apartment – for example, putting clothes away or making a cup of tea.  Moving furniture around to make the room more accessible is another settling in ritual for some disabled people – especially wheelchair-users – which we can help with.  If you are staying in a self-catering apartment, you might like some shopping for basic groceries done in advance – especially if you’re arriving on a late flight.

Once settled in, we can show you around – where dropped kerbs and accessible buildings are and, most importantly, where the accessible loos are!  We can also arrange hire of a scooter or wheelchair if you choose not to bring your own and provide a “pusher” for a manual wheelchair to give you or your friend a rest.  Farther afield, Paul has a full Spanish driving licence and can drive for you (hired car or your own) should you wish to see the sights of the island.  For those who need personal assistance or nursing care, we can also arrange this.

Our familiarity with the area and ability to speak Spanish means that we can help with solving problems too.  For example, if your wheelchair breaks down, we can take it to be repaired and return it to you, arranging for hire of a replacement in the meantime.  In the “worst case scenario”, if your accommodation turns out to be totally unsuitable (six steps to the entrance which they “forgot” to tell you about…) we can, subject to availability, arrange for alternative accommodation.

Holidays should be relaxing and enjoyable and “The Helping Hand” aims to make this a reality for disabled holidaymakers. Charges are reasonable - from €10 per hour or €12 for work involving driving.

For more information, contact Dr Paul McElroy on (0034) 670 512 855;

e-mail paul@helpinghandinTenerife.com