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There seems to be a real shortage of Porter's chairs

Posted By Hoops McCann

"There seems to be a real shortage of Porter's chairs"

About: St John's Hospital / General Medicine

(as a service user),

Having attended many hospitals over the last few years I was wondering how hospitals are allocated and resource Porter’s Chairs. It seems to be a real shortage of chairs at St John’s in comparison to others, this manifests itself in visitors not being able to get chairs to transport family members to be able to get in to the hospital or to take patients from wards when visiting. 

This must impact on people’s experience and contentment when using the hospital. 

Are there funds for chairs? can they be donated? 

I look forward to your response.

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Responses

Response from Claire Withnell, Patient Experience Officer, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian nearly 2 years ago
Claire Withnell
Patient Experience Officer, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 02/08/2023 at 16:11
Published on Care Opinion at 16:11

picture of Claire Withnell

This response is being posted on behalf of Jennifer Semple, Soft Facilities Management Area Manager St Johns Hospital.

Dear Hoops McCann,

Thank you for your comments on the shortage of porters chairs at St Johns Hospital.

We review our amount of chairs regularly and will purchase more if necessary - for example if we have any chairs that cannot be repaired. Unfortunately we do not have a specific fund for chairs and we have to purchase them from a supplier that is identified by procurement. This is to ensure that all safety criteria is met. As the funds come out of the facilities budget, although we would welcome donated chairs, they would have to meet the set criteria.

Many of our chairs are left in clinical areas and not returned to the main entrance which can cause a shortage of chairs available. Our hospital porters are continuously returning chairs to the main entrance so they are available. The chairs are also used for patient transfers through out the hospital and at busy times there may not be as many available. Any visitor or patients who are finding difficulties in getting a chair when they enter the front door can request assistance from the reception and our team will try to provide one as quickly as possible.

I hope the above response answers your comments, we will continue to monitor and review the amount of chairs.

Many Thanks

Jenni Semple

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