Torbay Hospital League of Friends’ generous fundraising has paid for two stairclimbers, which will help people with limited mobility travel using patient transport.
The two bariatric stairclimbers will be used by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust’s Patient Transport Services to ensure that people are safely helped up and down stairs and into vehicles. The stairclimbers are specifically designed to help people with limited mobility.
These will result in a more comfortable and easier journey for people who need help getting to and from hospital and healthcare sites for appointments and treatment. The CR230 stairclimber produced by manufacturer AAT is able to support those who weigh up to 230kg, which is over 70kg more than the limit of the current equipment.
Torbay Hospital League of Friends had previously supported Patient Transport Services by funding 11 stairclimbers which are already benefitting patients in all of the team’s double crewed ambulances.
Louis Nicholls, Patient Transport Officer at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The new stairclimbers will not only help our team to support people with limited mobility, but more importantly will allow us to be to offer a higher level of service for people across Torbay and South Devon which means the world to me.
“We thank the kindness and generosity of the League of Friends and the massive support they have given us. It was brilliant to be able to show the League how the equipment is used every day, and it is great to know that they are there to listen to any ideas we have that will help the community.
“This type of equipment helps our organisation continue to provide quality care to the people of Torbay and South Devon, so a big thank you to everyone who has kindly supported the League of Friends to help bring this and other initiatives to fruition.”
Roy Tuttle, Chairman of the Torbay Hospital League of Friends, said: “We can all imagine how difficult it would be to transport a sick or injured person to and from hospital when several flights of stairs are involved. We were delighted to be able to help Patient Transport Services to acquire two fantastic bariatric stairclimbers which we know will make the patients journey less stressful and, at the same time, make the job of everyone in patient transport a little bit easier.”
