STAFF at Burnham-on-Sea War Memorial Hospital are celebrating after a group donated three new pieces of equipment.

On July 10 Bernard Spilsbury, chairman of The Friends of Burnham-on-Sea Hospital, formally handed over the equipment to Caroline Dennis, manager of the Integrated Rehabilitation Team at Burnham-on-Sea War Memorial Hospital with staff from the hospital.

The three new stand aids, which cost £3,400, will help patients transfer from transfer from chairs to beds and encourage patients to become more mobile.

Bernard Spilsbury, chairman of The Friends of Burnham-on-Sea Hospital, said: "Although the hospital already has manual handling equipment, it is an old design, is large and not transportable.

"One of the requirements now is for the rehabilitation of the more frail patients so that they are able to go home, the current equipment was never designed to be portable and used both inside the hospital and if necessary in patient’s homes.

"A request was instigated by occupational therapist Sarah Watson and ‘The Friends’ were only too happy to help."

The new equipment is as follows:

  • The ReTurn 7500i sit-to-stand aid enables a patient to stand up from a wheelchair, chair or bed and move a short distance to a destination within a building.

It can be used as both a transfer device and a rehabilitation aid, making it suitable for homes and hospitals.

The patient is able to use one carer to achieve sit-to-stand for transfers and rehabilitation.

  • The Macworth TA180 sit to stand aid is a transfer support unit which actively encourages our more mobile patients to stand unassisted. This item was classified by the ward Therapists as the priority item in their list of requests to the Friends of Burnham Hospital. The ward had just one of these transport platforms and it is used daily by more than one patient. Having a second transport platform is more efficient and means that patients are not kept waiting for equipment to become available for their use.
  • The MiniLift 125 Stand Aid is designed to replicate the natural action of standing, reducing strain on the user's body and helping to avoid pain or injury. It is very easy to manoeuvre even in tight spaces, making this Stand Aid ideal for areas where space is at a premium such as at home. It folds up and can go in the back of a car (and prior to this donation the ward did not have anything like it).