NHS and industry collaboration donates assistive technologies to children in Moldova
An independent living aids manufacturer, NRS Healthcare, and Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust have donated assistive paediatric devices to children in Moldova.
The equipment was donated to different settings including hospitals and to families who attend the Tony Hawks centre in Moldova. It has been given to children with additional physical needs, enabling them to fulfil their potential, participate in activities of daily living, and improve their physical ability.
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust connected with ChildAid, a charity that aims to transform the lives of vulnerable, abandoned, and disabled children in Eastern Europe, to assess the suitability of equipment.
Theresa Warner-Jones, Clinical Occupational Therapist for Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We regularly try to donate equipment to charities, and I was delighted to be able to donate all sorts of items and equipment, that otherwise would have been scrapped here.”
NRS Healthcare previously donated thousands of assistive devices to a charity supporting those affected by the war in Ukraine.
Martin Wilcox, ChildAid Director, commented: “We simply cannot thank Sussex Community NHS Trust enough for offering the equipment they no longer required. We were taken aback by the quality and quantity.
“Moldova’s average wages are under £450 per month. For families with children living with disabilities, mobility and healthcare equipment can be but a dream. You have made dreams come true.
“The arrival of the equipment brought such happiness to the amazing team at the Tony Hawks Centre as every piece of equipment was seen as being essential.
Theresa continued: “The items were donated in October last year and I’d like to thank Paddy Gibbs, Warehouse Manager, Sarah Rodgers, Occupational Therapy Assistant and the team at NRS Healthcare in West Sussex, who were integral in getting the equipment loaded onto the van and also coordinated the collection.”
Plymouth Council’s community equipment service (CES) has been secured by NRS Healthcare, where it will support between 16,000 to 18,000 people each year with assistive technologies to enable them to live as independently as possible.