CDHB Amnesty on Borrowed Equipment

If you have a wheelchair, walking frame, crutches, shower stool or any other rehabilitation equipment that should have been returned to a Canterbury hospital, now is the time to bring it back.

The Canterbury District Health Board is holding a no-questions-asked amnesty on all equipment that it loans to patients and would like as many people as possible to come forward and replenish its stocks for the New Year.

“The equipment is labelled, so all people need to do is to drop it off to the hospital they obtained it from.  If this is too difficult, they can leave it with their closest CDHB hospital or the Mobility Services depot at 45 St Asaph St,” CDHB Clinical Engineering Manager Tony Blackler said.

CDHB patients who borrow equipment are reminded by letter that the item they have borrowed will need to be returned.  People can seek an extension if their medical condition means that they will need it for a longer period of time.

“There are however people each year, who for a variety of reasons forget that they or a close relative have borrowed our equipment and need to bring it back.  At the moment we have 50 walking frames, 50 wheelchairs and hundreds of pairs of crutches out there, which makes it very difficult to maintain a continuous supply of items for new patients,” Mr Blackler said.

“Perhaps the fact that it is Christmas time will jog people’s memories to think about others who need this equipment to help them recover from sickness or injury.”

ENDS