Both patients and staff at Singleton District Hospital are more comfortable and safer thanks to $37,000 from Yancoal’s Mount Thorley Warkworth (MTW) and Ashton Coal mines for three new fall prevention hospital beds.

The new beds are for general ward use at the hospital and are the “gold standard” in patient care.

Vanessa Dengate, the Surgical Services Nurse Unit Manager, said they are hugely beneficial not only for the patients but for the staff as well.

“They are fantastic. When we have patients who are at high risk of falls the beds have alarms so they’ll alert the nursing staff that a patient is trying to get up and needs assistance. They’re more comfortable than what we used to have, they have power points and phone charging points so there’s less clutter around the bed and they’re easier to maneuver around the ward.

“We can put the patient in so many different positions and it’s also less manual handling for our nursing staff,” she said.

The United Hospital Auxiliary helped the hospital get the funding as part of their work assisting people in the hospital and driving fundraising for vital equipment to better support patients at their time of need.

Susan Paull, President of the United Hospital Auxiliary was thrilled with the equipment upgrade.

“We recognised the need to replace some of our existing beds at Singleton District Hospital, they had aged and needed to be updated not only for the benefit of our patients but also for the nurses and doctors. 

“The new beds have features that significantly reduce fall-related incidents and injuries, they are robust and suitable for use in all our wards.

“The beds are also highly adjustable in terms of backrest and the knee bend area to suit patient comfort and bed positioning. This has reduced manual handling for our staff and therefore improved efficiency, enabling them to focus on caring for the patients.

“We are always looking at ways to improve the hospital for the benefit of the community and thankful to Ashton Coal and Mount Thorley Warkworth for their donations to help make this project happen,” said Susan.

MTW General Manager, Cris Shadbolt, was proud to help improve the equipment at the hospital.

“Sleep is important for your health, recovery and wellbeing so we are pleased our funding could purchase new hospital beds at Singleton District Hospital to help improve patient recovery.

“Hospitals play a vital role in our community, and it is imperative they have high-quality equipment for the benefit of everyone in our area when they need it most,” said Cris.

Image caption: Vanessa Dengate Surgical Services Nurse Unit Manager, Michael Bartlett Operations Manager Ashton Coal, Gary Mulhearn Environment and Community Manager at MTW Mine, Singleton Hospital Auxiliary Member Kassy Solman, Katie Maguire Acting Health Service Manager, Louise Alsleben Acting Nurse Unit Manager Medical Ward, Clinical Nurse Manager Susan Patterson, Sue Paull President of the Singleton Hospital Auxiliary and Phillip Brown the Environment and Community Superintendent at Ashton Coal.