Skipton's two Rotary clubs have teamed up to donate more than £5,300 to pay for a stretcher chair for patients at Airedale Hospital.
The chair arrived last month and will be used for patient rehabilitation at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, particularly patients on the Critical Care Unit and those who cannot get out of bed. The new chair provides more support than a standard chair and allows the therapy team to transfer patients out of bed who otherwise may be unable to do so. This allows very early rehabilitation to commence in even the lowest level patients and provides numerous physical and psychological benefits.
The chair was presented by Andrew Gold, President of Skipton Rotary Club and Chair of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust; Phil Brown, President of Skipton Craven Rotary Club; and Brian Stott, Rotary’s Assistant District Governor for Dales Group.
Andrew Gold, President of Skipton Rotary Club and Chair of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, says: “Rotary in Skipton thanks all those who contributed to the fundraising for this stretcher chair which makes a real difference to the Trust’s patients and its people.”
Tom Woodcock, Senior Physiotherapist at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, says: “Colleagues on ward 16 have used this piece of kit with a countless number of patients already, contributing to their overall recovery, speeding up their rehabilitation and ultimately reducing their length of stay in hospital. It is an invaluable piece of kit.”
Freya Sledding, Therapy Service Manager at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, says: “I would like to add what a difference this chair has made firstly to the early rehab we can provide but secondly on our workforce. I have heard many positive comments from excited therapists who see this need and can utilise it in their patient care.”
Picture above shows (left to right): Tom Woodcock, Jessica May, Phil Brown, Brian Stott, Andrew Gold, Henry Illingworth, Andrew Phillips, Emily Sale, Tara Hawkins.
