Wheelchairs under lock and key at the Royal Preston Hospital after misuse

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has introduced a token system to ensure that there will be wheelchairs available at all times for the members of the public and patients who struggle getting around the hospital.

Volunteers from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will have access to these tokens and will distribute them to the public and patients when they need to use the wheelchairs.

They are currently located at Royal Preston Hospital, outside the pharmacy area in the main entrance, with more being rolled out to all of the outpatient areas.

Martin Keeney, Portering Services Assistant Manager, said: “We created this initiative to make our chairs secure and always available for our patients and visitors who struggle getting around the hospital.

"We have had issues where some chairs are left on the carpark after being or have been misused, this initiative will help everyone involved and if successful, will be rolled out across all our outpatient areas.”

Stephen Mills, Public Governor and Volunteer said: “The lack of hospital chairs is an ongoing issue, this initiative will help us keep the chairs secure and available for the public and patients. It is good to see the hospitals put a project in place to help visitors and patients with this issue.”