Countdown donation of $59,000 will fund new Tauranga Hospital therapeutic play area

Staff from Tauranga Hospital's child and adolescent team, including therapeutic puppets, were on hand at Countdown Pāpāmoa to receive the cheque from the Kids Hospital Appeal. Photo / supplied

A $59,000 donation to Tauranga Hospital will be used to create a therapeutic play area for children receiving mental health treatment.

The donation, which was raised by Countdown through its annual kids' hospital appeal, was presented to representatives of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board in Pāpāmoa this morning.

The appeal raised $1.2 million nationally through stores' fundraising events and donations from shoppers.

Bronwyn Anstis, the board's acting chief operating officer, said the "generous" donation would cover the cost to install the play area in an outside area attached to the mental health unit at Tauranga Hospital.

She said there would be traditional play equipment as well as a water feature to help children relax while at the hospital for a treatment session. They hoped to have it installed early next year.

The health board said the donation would also be put towards:

- Mobile vision and hearing testing kits for children to have these checks in the community, and
- Portable paediatric monitors for Tauranga Hospital's Children's Ward, allowing sick children to be continuously monitored as they are moved between wards or hospitals

Countdown's appeal also raised $66,000 for sensory play equipment and an update to the teenage whanau room at Rotorua Hospital, and $35,000 for an outdoor play and recuperation area at Whakatāne Hospital.