Hospital still desperate for equipment return

Rotorua hospital security manager John Nieuwoud. Photo/File

The Lakes District Health Board (DBH) is again appealing for missing hospital equipment to be returned.

In September the Rotorua Daily Post reported on the Lakes DHB's plea for wheelchairs or other equipment to be returned but so far there has been little response.

Rotorua residents are again asked to return any wheelchairs and other Lakes DHB equipment they may find in their homes and storage spaces.

There will be no questions asked if wheelchairs or other hospital items are returned to the front entrance of Rotorua Hospital.

The call for the return of equipment is prompted by a dire shortage of wheelchairs in Rotorua Hospital. Missing wheelchairs is a recurring issue for Lakes DHB and it means that some patients who need to be wheeled to appointments in the hospital can face delays while a wheelchair is located.

Security Manager John Nieuwoudt said people use the wheelchairs to take their relatives to their cars when they are discharged from hospital and many do not return the wheelchairs to the hospital.

Some 17 wheelchairs have gone missing from areas in Rotorua Hospital notably from the medical, surgical, orthopaedic and birthing units.

Mr Nieuwoudt said the DHB can not afford to replace as many as it would like and sometimes patients get impatient when they have to wait for a wheelchair to be found.

Lakes DHB staff can also spend quite a lot of time tracking down family members where equipment has been loaned trying to retrieve the equipment. In extreme cases, the matter can be put in the hands of debt collectors.

Several years ago Lakes DHB purchased wheelchairs that can not be collapsed and easily put into the boot of a car but the wheelchairs have continued to go missing. It's thought larger model cars or four wheel drive vehicles can still accommodate an unfolded wheelchair.

Rotorua Hospital is planning to buy six new wheelchairs in the coming year at a cost of $9,000 but said the money could be better spent on other equipment if wheelchairs did not go missing with such regularity.

People who locate hospital equipment and return it to Rotorua Hospital will not face any questions or any action.