There are 650 sets of crutches currently out and about in the Taranaki community, and Te Whatu Ora Taranaki would like them back if they aren’t being used, says Te Whatu Ora Occupational Therapy lead for Taranaki, Karien Visagie.
“Taranaki hospitals purchase 800 sets of crutches a year alone and there are less than 150 currently available for patients.”
The other 650 will have been loaned out to people for short-term use, but they don’t always make their way back to the Taranaki hospital they came from once they are no longer needed, she says.
Now, with demand currently high for the items, it would be great to get them back, she says, as stocks are running “incredibly low” right now.
It’s not just crutches the hospital teams would like returned either. Karien says the hospital issues an average of 600 to 650 physiotherapy and occupational therapy aids for short-term use every month, which adds up to approximately 10,000 pieces of equipment that need to be recalled a year.