Games and puzzles to help get patients more active have been bought for North Walsham Hospital by its Friends support group.
A range of items from an indoor basketball hoop and quoit rings to jigsaws, dominoes and reminiscence cards will improve the mobility and motivation for those patients undergoing rehabilitation.
Community physiotherapist Sharon Griffin said the donation would make a big difference to patients, adding: “It will make them feel better about themselves as they get ready to go home.”
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The activities are part of an NHS 'Recondition the Nation' initiative which aims to get patients doing more than lying in bed or sitting in a chair, which affects their muscle strength and psychological wellbeing.
In the programme, patients are encouraged to join in gentle seated exercises and do more for themselves, such as getting dressed, rather than relying on nurses.
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The £360 worth of activity equipment is the latest donation from the Friends, who use donated public money to buy “extras” for the hospital to help patients, staff and visitors.
Other ongoing and recent gifts include newspapers for patients, a coffee machine for staff, and plants and furniture for the garden.
Friends chairman Keith Jarvis said: “We are delighted to make donations like these activities which help staff improve patients’ stays in hospital, and maybe even get them home sooner, fitter and feeling better.”
The hospital has 24 beds for patients recovering from operations, fractures and falls.
It also has some palliative patients as well as outpatient clinics including physio.
A display by the Friends, looking at its beginnings and current work, will feature in the history display by the town community archive being held in and around the parish church on August 10-12 (10am-4pm, free entry).
A fundraising coffee morning for the Friends is being held at Gordon Haynes Independent Funeral Services on Midland Road on August 19 from 10am-1pm.
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