"Toilet facilities"

My Dad is in a wheelchair and we use a Sara steady at home to move him from one place to another.  He can only weight bear for a short time and finds transferring very difficult.  We came to the hospital for a routine diabetic check via the Community Transport bus as we still haven’t received our WAV from garage.  Our appointment was at 10am but we had to get picked up at 8:30am and the bus isn’t coming back for us until after 1pm! 

When we arrived at the hospital Dad needed the toilet.  I managed (with great difficulty) to get Dad into the toilet using the hand rails and his wheelchair for support.  The toilets are very low and this made the process much more difficult.  I knew it would be nigh on impossible to get him back up as he was exhausted by this stage.  I asked at reception if I could borrow a Sara Steady but the receptionist hadn’t heard of this piece of equipment and didn’t really know where to access one.  They asked a porter who had never heard of this either but they offered to help get Dad off the toilet.  

Unfortunately, due to Dad’s weight and mobility I knew this would be a difficult task.  I told the receptionist we had been in the hospital the week before and the radiologist department had used a Sara steady to transfer Dad from the wheelchair to the couch for his scan.  I asked if I could go and see if I could borrow theirs.  The receptionist very kindly waited with Dad and chatted to him while I was away.   

The staff at radiology were fantastic.  One of the members of staff brought the Sara steady out of the department and helped me get Dad back into his wheelchair.  The receptionist was still with Dad and was amazed at how good the Sara steady was at doing what Dad couldn’t do on his own or even with support!  

I am disappointed that the toilets are not higher to allow patients with mobility issues to get up and down easier.   It would be wonderful if there was something like a Sara steady available to help transfer from the wheelchair to the toilet also. 

I am, however, very grateful to the members of staff who helped me solve the problem and get help for Dad!