Strongbones Children’s Charitable Trust also very kindly funded the purchase of a child-friendly wheelchair. This has now helped staff overcome the problems they were having transporting children from the waiting area to the treatment area. This is because it is brighter but also the correct size for children and so more comfortable than the adult wheelchair that was used in the past.
Part of the donation was also to be used to hire Hip-Spica wheelchairs as and when needed. Since the donation we only had one case where it was needed as the rest of the children who needed a Hip-Spica cast were young enough to go home in their pram. This in itself is quite a rare situation to be in as usually we see more older children who need a Hip-Spica cast and so it is felt it is only time before the demand for this specialist wheelchair returns.
In the case where one was needed the hiring process became quite complex. It also transpired there were infection control issues with the model that had been selected. As such our Occupational Therapist who deals with the Hip-Spica cases in children has looked into a number of alternatives and now feels the best and most cost effective option would be to purchase three Hip-Spica wheelchairs of slightly differing sizes to accommodate children of any age. Three of these with the additions of a Hip-Spica board and anti-tips come to a total of £2,599.06 including VAT, and they are now on order.
The £700 remaining out of the money kindly donated for the hire of Hip-Spica wheelchairs is to be used to purchase a platform for weighing children in wheelchairs. This scale will enable the staff to carry out accurate drug calculations for those children in wheelchairs. As it would remove the need for taking the children out of their wheelchair it would make their hospital visits less stressful and more comfortable.
