New beds top of children’s hospital wishlist
Slowly but surely plans for the new Wellington Children’s Hospital are taking shape with a bevvy of hi-tech new beds the first wishlist items.
The timing couldn’t be better, according to Wellington Hospitals Foundation chairman Bill Day, with a fundraiser specifically for the country’s children’s hospitals kicking off this month.
‘‘The beds are the first identifiable real need that is wanted. They’re still working through what is needed equipment-wise in the hospital because the focus has mostly been on the build itself.’’
Each year the Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal – now in its 12th campaign – dishes out more than $1 million to children’s hospitals and wards throughout New Zealand.
This year, the Wellington team had been granted a special exception with money from this year and next year’s appeals set to be pooled together to coincide with the opening of the new hospital in 2020.
‘‘The needs of hospitals change every year and this year we’re excited to be fundraising for such a variety of equipment, playgrounds, beds for the new Wellington Children’s Hospital, and all sorts of things that will help out,’’ appeal chairwoman Ruth Krippner said.
Paediatric community nurse Kerry Dellabarca said that 60 to 70 beds had been requested for the new hospital, at a total cost of more than $300,000.
‘‘With the children’s hospital imminent and they [Countdown] said they would love to know that we were going to get brand-new electronic beds, which all cost about $5000 each.’’
One hundred per cent of the funds raised each year go to the appeal’s recipients, with the supermarket chain picking up all the administrative costs of the campaign.
The appeal, which has raised $11.6m since it first began in 2007, runs until October 28.