Hospital calls for gear to be returned

Wairarapa DHB physiotherapy team leader Linda Tatton, left, and occupational therapy leader Franky Spite with some of the equipment the hospital needs back.PHOTO/WAIRARAPA DHB

Wairarapa Hospital wants to track down crutches and other equipment that people may have finished with but have not yet returned.

The hospital's Emergency, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy departments are short on equipment and are appealing to people who may have forgotten to return it.

Each year, hundreds of items of equipment are loaned to patients with injuries or following surgery to help with their recovery.

Wairarapa occupational therapy leader Franky Spite said the equipment is expensive to replace and desperately needed for other patients to use.

"Tracking down short-term loan equipment can be very time consuming and our staff are often simply too busy with more direct patient care to do this.

"A new wheelchair costs around $500 -- money we would rather spend on new equipment for our patients than replacing stock we already have."

Other equipment missing in action includes shower stools, bed cradles, walking frames, crutches, air mattresses and raised toilet seats.

Hospital teams are asking people to look at home -- under beds, in their garages, in cupboards -- for equipment they or family members may have forgotten about.

People can return the equipment, no questions asked, to the equipment returns depot on Blair Street.

"If patients still need the equipment, they can contact the Allied Health reception on 946 9843 to arrange to have the loan of it extended," Ms Spite said.

The hospital's teams are particularly keen to get as much equipment returned before the Christmas holiday period starts.

"The busy season is coming up," said Ms Spite. "The days are longer, people are more active and so we see more injuries. It's hard to say to someone who has an acute injury or is recovering from surgery, 'Sorry we have no equipment for you', when we know it is out there not being used.

"We really appreciate people returning equipment promptly, when they have finished with it, because there is always someone else who needs it."