LEVI’S THRILLED TO BITS WITH NEW ‘PATSY’ HIGH CHAIR

THE treatment of young patients at Cairns Hospital will be made easier following the donation of two specialist high chairs and the refurbishment of another.

Cairns Men’s Shed gave the specialist equipment to the hospital’s paediatric unit to help young patients with complex needs.

The non-profit organisation built the two new “Patsy” high chairs for the ward, invaluable pieces of equipment that can be adjusted to offer positioning and postural support for babies and children with low muscle tone, development delays, or chronic health conditions.

The chairs, designed by former Cairns Hospital and Health Service allied health executive director Patsy Bjerregaard, have been well-known, used and loved by therapists and patients across the Far North for more than 30 years.

But there are few original chairs left, with most missing pieces or requiring repairs.

Cairns Hospital paediatric occupational therapist Holly Webster said the chairs would allow the ward’s youngest patients to sit safely to eat or play.

“These chairs are invaluable both on the ward and feeding clinic at Cairns Hospital and to have two chairs with all components will be an asset to the Cairns Hospital paediatric ward,” she said.

It was the idea of Mike Wraith of the men’s shed to handcraft the two new chairs and renovate a third. “Most of us are fathers. We realise the problems faced by some children who are sick and the parents who have to cope,” he said.