Borrowed crutches? Return'em

PLEASE BRING BACK: Norman Gray (left), clinical lead; Sam Stewart, registered nurse; and Jo Wailling, charge nurse manager, hold some of the last pairs of crutches. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGAWTA080514LFCRUTCH01

Where have all the crutches gone?

Wairarapa Hospital staff are running out of crutches and are appealing for people to return them as well as any other hospital equipment.

"We are at an all-time low again," said Jan McLaren, communications adviser for Wairarapa District Health Board.

She said each pair cost more than $30 and it was frustrating to buy more when others could be left, unused, in someone's garage or closet.

"It's a constant strain on our budget," Ms McLaren said.

Charge nurse manager Jo Wailling said when people came into the emergency department and left on crutches, they tended to hang on to them. Hundreds of pairs, worth thousands of dollars, were missing and the hospital was down to the last box.

"The money we spend on ordering new crutches could be spent on other things," she said.

They would be grateful if people could also return any type of unneeded hospital equipment, for example, walking frames,

Clinical lead Norman Gray said if people spread the word, it could lead to equipment being returned.

Dr Gray said it wasn't practical to keep a tracking system because it was time-consuming.

The crutches have WDHB inscribed on them and can be dropped off, no questions asked, at the main reception at Wairarapa Hospital in Masterton.