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One of Australia’s largest healthcare
equipment and service providers,
Aidacare has been assisting Australians
in hospitals, residential aged care, home
and community care, and rehabilitation
sectors for over 25 years. Aidacare is on
most government healthcare equipment
contracts in Australia and hold supply
agreements with many private sector
healthcare companies. This makes Aidacare
the natural choice to provide specialist
equipment to the Royal Hobart Hospital
redevelopment project.
For the Royal Hobart Hospital, Aidacare
supplied and installed a ceiling tracking system
manufactured by the Swedish company
Liko. The project was managed by Joe
Gason and Grant Devonshire of Aidacare.
“The tracking system is suspended from
pendants bolted to the concrete ceilings,”
said Joe and Grant. “It’s basically a tracking
system that lifts patients, from wheelchairs
onto beds or a therapy gym.”
One application for the system is to
facilitate gait training, which is a type
of physical therapy to assist patients in
regaining the ability to stand and walk.
This allows early mobilisation of the patient.
“It has a circular track set up to assist with
walking, so that patients can practice and
relearn this skill in a safe environment,”
said Joe and Grant. The system also functions
as a bariatric system with a capacity of up to
500kg to assist heavier people who cannot
stand unaided.
The rehabilitative applications of the
system are wide ranging. “We covered more
or less every room in the new section.
There are many patients that don’t require
it, but for those who do, it is there,” said Joe
and Grant.
In most cases, the installation of the
system was towards the end of the fitout
programme. “We were usually one of the last
trades in. The rooms must be plastered and
painted, then finished before the equipment
goes in,” said Joe and Grant. This meant
that Aidacare needed to be ready to rapidly
complete installation works throughout the
construction programme.
Aidacare planned the pendant placing and
spacing to avoid clashes with services and
ensured sufficient tolerances were allowed.
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Shop drawings were then submitted to the
main contractor and architects for approval.
“If they were not happy, we fit it in to suit
them. After approval of the shop drawings,
we could get cracking. We segmented the
project into levels so we could start on a
level and complete it before moving onto
the next one.”
Aidacare provide much more than just the
Liko ceiling tracking system. “That’s just
one of thousands of products we distribute
in all states and territories across Australia.
Equipment they provide includes hospital
equipment, therapeutic chairs, walking aids,
wheelchairs, bathroom and toilet equipment,
mobility ramps and scooters.”
As well as stocking equipment manufactured
under other brand names, Aidacare
also manufacture a premium range of
healthcare equipment which has been
designed, tested and manufactured to meet
Australian standards.
To more comprehensively support their
customers, Aidacare have recently opened a
new 6,000m2 showroom located five minutes
from Melbourne Airport, called ‘Project and
Fitout Solutions by Aidacare’. The showroom
displays a wide range of hospital and aged
care fit outs that can be delivered by Aidacare.
“We’ve always done fitouts but now we are
delivering a whole solution. We’re offering
everything from initial planning of a new
build to the finishing touches,” said Kate
Williamson, Marketing Manager. With the
launch of this unique facility, Aidacare are
even more well placed to deliver cohesive end
results in healthcare services that deliver on
both design and price.
Aidacare are working on many hospital and
aged care facilities across Australia including
upcoming projects in Queensland for Estia
Health and Japara Healthcare.
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