Every day the Outpatients Department at the General Hospital offers patients equipment to help them manage their conditions at home – everything from walking frames and sticks to nebulisers for asthma sufferers.
In many cases, the patients only require them for a short period of time to aid their recovery – but often due to pressures of time or transport, they forget to bring the borrowed items back to the Grange Road site.
Much of the Hospital’s equipment is purchased with the aid of voluntary donations and fundraising work carried out by the Hospital League of Friends, and many hours of voluntary work.
In order to ensure that equipment is used for the good of the whole community, it is vital that the equipment is returned, so that funds can be directed towards purchasing new equipment, and not replacing lost items.
Nick Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Weston Area Health NHS Trust, said: “Our aim here at the Hospital is to ensure that we always have the aids and equipment needed by the patients we serve, to enable them to recover fully at home.
“Until the end of May, we are asking all of our current or past patients or carers to return any equipment they have borrowed in the past to the Grange Road site; this will allow us to stock-take our current range of equipment, prior to purchasing replacements.
“It doesn’t matter how long they’ve had it or why it hasn’t been returned before, we would be grateful for its return.
“If it originally came from our Children’s Services sites in Drove Road and The Barn, Clevedon, we’ll take that back too.”
For further information, please contact Caroline Welch on 01934 647091