Over 30 British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) members attended this year’s Naidex, showcasing a wide range of exciting and innovative products and services. BHTA members reported very positive feedback from customers at the show, enjoyed speaking to people face-to-face, and connected with new and familiar faces.
From commercial insurance for businesses and a National Mobility Equipment Register to award-winning powerchairs and single grip hands, Naidex 2026 proved a successful event for members. Here’s what they had to say about the event:

Kylie Evans – Mark Bates
“We’re particularly excited to showcase the National Mobility Equipment Register at Naidex, which is provided by Mark Bates. This new register means people can register their mobility equipment through the site on a central database. The idea is that the police will have access to this database so that if someone’s equipment is stolen, the database will enable the individual to be reunited with their product.
“There will be lots of useful information on the website for people with mobility needs. For example, the register will provide information on where accessible toilets are. The register will also collate manufacturer’s mobility equipment manuals so that people can access all the information they need to do with their product.”
Kate Turner – Merits Health Products
“We’re excited to showcase our Axcel range of powerchairs at Naidex 2026. The entire Merits range is new to the UK, so Naidex has been a hard launch for all of the products on display.
“Naidex has been really good with lots of positive conversations about our range and how we can help people with their mobility needs. Our front-wheel-drive products and cushions have been particularly popular.”
Dan Atherton – Cyclone Mobility
“We’re excited to showcase our range of Batec products at Naidex this year. We’ve had very positive feedback from consumers about all of our products. In particular, we’ve had good-quality conversations with consumers and more interest in our products this year at Naidex compared to previous years.”
“The InnoWalk is our flagship product, which we’re excited to showcase at Naidex. It’s a dynamic standing solution, a bit like a cross trainer. We’ve upgraded the older model to include features like swivel seats and adjustable arm movers. We’ve had a very positive and busy show.”
“We’re most excited to showcase our new range of powerchairs and electric scooters, particularly the Hero powerchair because it’s unlike anything else in the market.
“Naidex has been great. We won the Best in Show Award for our Hero powered wheelchair. I’m super proud of my team who have managed to help us get the award. It is a team effort: from the sourcing of the product, purchasing it, paying for it, and showing it at an event. Every single one of my team members are attributable for getting this award, so a massive thanks to my team.”
Nathan Milgate – Triride
“We’ve got some new models and new motors in our front power-assist devices, so Naidex is a really exciting opportunity for us to showcase those to our end-users and give the opportunity for test drives.
“The two motor upgrades provide better pulling power, more capability for using the devices at walking paces, pavement speeds, and accesses the terrain that customers are likely to want to go on – on-road and off-road – in an easier fashion.”

Matthew James – Precision Rehab
“We’re showing the ibot for the first time at Naidex. This year, we’ve introduced power positioning on it. Some of our customers, who were going from more complex chairs, wanted to go up the stairs and to use balanced mode and four-wheel-drive, but they also didn’t want to lose the functions they had in their current chair. So now we’ve introduced features like power recline, lay flat, and an electric leg rest as additional features, without losing the original features.
“We’re a top-end powered wheelchair specialist. We only sell powered wheelchairs, and they’re generally all advanced powerchairs.
“It’s always good to get products in front of people, especially our more complicated, high-end products where they have a lot of features. If you said to someone that an ibot is £30,000 to £50,000, they don’t realise what it does. When they come and see the product in person, they can see what it’s doing for that price. They can see that it’s going up and downstairs, balancing, and going over soft sand and gravel. A lot of people have two or three chairs, whereas the ibot does everything in one product, which actually works out cheaper.”
“We’ve been most excited to showcase Myosmart, a new pattern recognition system for patients. We’ve been able to use the assessment cuff live on stand for people to try it.
“At Naidex, we exhibited the Myosmart and Speedhand, a single grip hand, which are both new products. The last single grip hand was from the 1960s, so launching Speedhand provides a long-overdue and exciting refresh.
“It’s been valuable to be able to do some real-time assessments on people at Naidex as well.”
Drew Fullalove – Monarch Mobility
“We’re excited to our showcase new line of carbon fibre powerchairs. These are all very lightweight, from around 11 to 16 kilos. We’ve also got our brand-new Onyx and Obsidian ranges to showcase.
“We’ve had very positive feedback from customers, with people saying that our products are mind-blowing and that they wish they’d had them sooner. We’ve had especially positive feedback around our folding products and colour options. We’ve gone with a matte finish, which is quite new and a bit different.”
Stuart Hill – Laybrook
“Naidex is a good opportunity to explain our new promotions, beds, and mechanisms to customers. We’re exhibiting our prototype, which is a platform type that helps people who are taller or shorter than the average person. We’ve also got a four-motor mechanism. It’s something that we had beforehand called the Empress. But this new four-motor brings up the legs higher than the heart, which helps people with lymphoedema. We’ve also got new mattresses, so we’re informing people that we can put a firm edge on both sides of the mattress, should they want that. We’ve got new massage systems which are wireless as well as some new accessories. We’ve got something new for everybody.
“Every year we’ve done Naidex, the week afterwards delivers some really good leads for us to talk to, show them what we can achieve, and go into a little bit more detail, and this is where the customer gets a bit more confidence about what Laybrook can offer.”
Kirsty Garvey – First Senior Group
“We offer services to customers, and we work closely with dealers, who we offer finance through. We’ve got specialised travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions, and we’ve got new commercial insurance for businesses.
“We try to come to Naidex every year, as it’s very important for us to meet new and existing dealerships and customers face-to-face, so we can get to know them better and build strong relationships.”
Richard Holland-Oakes – Recare
“We’re excited to showcase the the new Blake Medical cushions that we’re distributing, and they’ve shown a lot of interest. We’ve also had interest in the Wolturnus active rigid wheelchairs.
“We’ve also got the new Benoit wheelchair power add-on system. Everybody in the industry probably knows the Benoit system, but this is now a thinner, lighter, less ironmongery way of looking at a product. That’s been really well received.
“The main reason we attend Naidex is to get enquiries but also book assessments to go out to people.”
Jolene Istan – CareTech
“We’re excited to showcase our rehabilitation services that we provide within CareTech and Oakleaf Group. Having a stand at Naidex around the rehab and neuro area has been absolutely great for us.
“From an exhibitor point of view, it’s great to attend industry events like Naidex because we’ve been able to make contacts which could potentially lead to support some individuals within their rehab journey that haven’t heard about us before.
“From a personal point of view, it’s been really great watching people getting in motorised walking systems and listening to their stories. I’ve had goosebumps quite a few times over the past couple of days listening to people’s journeys. So it’s been great from a personal and business perspective.”
Trusted Assessing and Care Training (TACT) has announced that its accredited Trusted Assessor course for retailers, which launched in February 2024 in collaboration with the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), will be available online this autumn.
Approved by OCN London at level three, the ‘Trusted Assessor: Assessing in a Retail Environment’ course is designed to enable retail staff selling daily living equipment to become certified Trusted Assessors to provide ethical and reliable advice.
For BHTA members, the course is an excellent opportunity for retail staff to become knowledgeable and qualified Trusted Assessors to handle simple daily living equipment assessments and to know when to refer more complex cases to an occupational therapist (OT).
Many retailers are used to undertaking in-home visits to identify suitable equipment and adaptations, and TACT’s dedicated Trusted Assessor course recognises that work by adding new skills in line with a recognised quality standard.
Once qualified as Trusted Assessors, retail staff can be formally integrated into local health and social care pathways, growing the network of people qualified to support older and disabled people to live independently in the community.

Brett Gilham, from BHTA member Laybrook, commented: “We know how busy many OTs are and therefore the fact that we can demonstrate we have been trained and can provide assistance in the assessment process will benefit all parties. It also means that our staff across all levels have been trained to a set standard for assessing.”
For members of the public, the Trusted Assessor qualification conveys an independent quality standard. Older and disabled people, their friends, and families can be confident that a person’s needs are being fully understood and that appropriate equipment and adaptations are being identified to help promote greater independence.
Alastair Gibbs, the director of TPG DisableAids, which is a BHTA member, said: “For TPG DisableAids the Trusted Assessor scheme has been a real boost. We have various staff trained from Level 2 to Level 4 and it has given us some real credibility with a number of housing associations and local authorities.
“Those that were looking for a differentiator and an indicator of commitment to quality found it in our association to BHTA and Trusted Assessor.”
Learners are on-boarded onto TACT’s learning management system where they complete the pre-course modules. A series of three OT-led two-hour webinars must be attended in order; learners then complete a post-course homework assignment to demonstrate what they have learned.
TACT’s OT Trainers are on-hand for support throughout, and TACT’s monthly webinar programme tops up knowledge for newly qualified Trusted Assessors for 12 months after qualification.
From autumn 2025, there are a range of available dates for retail staff to take the Trusted Assessor course online.
The first set of dates is Wednesday 10 September, Thursday 25 September, and Wednesday 8 October.
The second set of dates is Wednesday 22 October, Thursday 6 November, and Friday 21 November.
Places on these open courses cost £245 + VAT. Retailers should contact TACT if they have a larger group for a bespoke quotation.
The course can also be delivered as a one-day course face-to-face on a date of the retailers’ choice. All TACT’s trainers are OTs.
To find out more or to book a place on the Trusted Assessor course online or in person, call TACT on 01626 879528 or email info@trustedassessing.com