The Armidale Hospital now has pyjamas for its patients and toys for tots, among other much-needed items, thanks to the Country Women’s Association.
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The CWA’s Doreen Sawae and Joy Golding donated clothing, blankets, and hand-knitted teddies for 60 patients to the Armidale Hospital’s general manager, Wendy Mulligan, on Friday afternoon.
”We really appreciate this,” Ms Mulligan said. “Everything here we can use; it's all going to be so beneficial for us.”
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The CWA has given surgery packs and maternity wraps to the hospital for many years, but this was the first time the organisation had asked nurse managers what items they most wanted. Now nurses will get what they need, and in the right amounts.
”We don't usually have access to these items,” said Michelle Whiteley, in charge of the surgical ward, thanking the CWA on behalf of the nurse managers.
The CWA members spent a couple of months knitting teddy bears, twiddle muffs, and babies’ knitted clothing, and putting together toiletries packs, nightwear, women’s hygiene kits and underclothing, and rugs and blankets for infants.
“It's just so nice to help a local place that's important to all of us,” Ms Sawae said.
The teddy bears are a favourite with children. They are often traumatised when they come into the emergency department, so giving them a soft friend to hold helps to calm them down. The nurses often put bandaids on the teddies, or give the bear the treatment first.
“If you do it to the teddy first,” Ms Mulligan explained, “the child's more accepting of the care that they're provided with. It never hurts so much once teddy’s been treated. And teddies never cry!”
Although the items are available to all patients, they will be most used by those who live alone, are disadvantaged, or are transferred from smaller regional hospitals. These people may not have brought much with them, and often don’t have family who can fetch their things, so the hospital greatly appreciates having these creature comforts available.
“Pyajamas are really handy,” Ms Mulligan said. “We often get people coming, and they're waiting around the ward in just a white gown, because we haven’t got any pyjamas, and they've got no toiletries, no clothes.
“It's so lovely now to be able to give someone a pair of pyjamas to pop on – and they're lovely pyjamas!”
The public can also help by donating pyjamas and nighties, baby outfits, including jumpsuits and singlets, and toiletries, including soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.