Dorinda Sheppard, Appeal Shop volunteer (left) and RBH Financial Accounts Manager Mike Wilkinson (centre – trying one of the new wheelchairs and finding it very comfortable) present Ian Barnett Potts, Porter Services Manager (right) with the new wheelchair funds
Even more patients at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH) are now travelling in style thanks to the efforts of dedicated RBH Appeal Shop volunteers.
A second fleet of 30 brand new wheel chairs costing over £800 each have been purchased for the hospital by the Appeal Shop team, who raise money by selling bric-a-brac and clothing donations in an onsite charity shop at RBH.
Dorinda Sheppard, an Appeal Shop volunteer for over five years, explained: “Our porter services manager, Ian Barnett Potts, came to us and asked if we could do anything to help him fund some desperately needed wheelchairs for transporting patients around the hospital.
“The old wheelchairs were usable but old and clunky – some faced backwards which isn’t ideal. The new wheelchairs face forwards, are easier to push and far more comfortable for patients to sit in, as well as being colour coded to specific hospital areas so they can be returned to the right place. They seem to be working out really well.”
The batch of new wheelchairs is the second bought with Appeal Shop funds so far. In August last year, the team purchased 50 new wheelchairs for RBH with a previous donation, also in excess of £25,000.
Ian Barnett Potts said: “We so grateful to the Appeal Shop team for funding more wheelchairs. We are extremely fortunate to have such hard working volunteers raising funds for us.”
Anyone wishing to aid the Appeal Shop team in raising funds for new hospital equipment is welcome to visit the Appeal Shop, open in the main atrium of Royal Bournemouth Hospital 10am-2:30pm Monday to Friday. Any donations are always gratefully received.
For more information and latest news about the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, please visit www.rbch.nhs.uk.
