New approach to loan equipment to benefit patients

10/03/2011 | Loan Equipment

A new approach to the management of short term loan equipment will benefit patients of MidCentral District Health Board (DHB).

Loan equipment is used by patients, who’ve been discharged from hospital or are in the community, to assist with rehabilitation and home safety. MidCentral DHB processes approximately 250 Short Term Loan Equipment applications each week.

The equipment available includes, for example, crutches, walking sticks, wheelchairs, shower stools, over toilet frames and commodes.

The benefits of this new approach include:

• Patients whose loan period is extended can continue using their existing equipment. Currently short-term loan equipment must be returned and physically replaced from the long-term loan store, even though it may be exactly the same type of equipment.
• Improved tracking, ensuring equipment can be recalled when the loan period ends or when the equipment is no longer needed.
• Equipment availability will improve when loaned items are returned more promptly.
• Loan equipment will go out ‘as new’ because increased availability will allow sufficient time to clean and refurbish equipment between users.
• Moving from manual to electronic short term loan equipment requests will reduce costs, save staff time and allow therapists to more easily identify when equipment is available.

These changes will be in place by the end of this month.
MidCentral District Health Board, Director of Patient Safety and Clinical Effectiveness, Muriel Hanratty says: “by strengthening the management and tracking of short term loan equipment we can improve equipment access and availability. Currently the right equipment is not always available at the right time or in the right place.”

Enable New Zealand, the largest provider of equipment and housing modification services in New Zealand (and an operating division of MidCentral DHB), anticipates other DHBs will follow MidCentral and Southern DHB in adopting this new approach.

Contact: Communications Unit (06) 350-8945