July 15 2009

Quilt Donation

Dialysis patients at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital are undergoing treatment under warm and lovingly created quilts kindly hand made and donated by members of the Western Australian Quilters Association (WAQA).

The Association provides quilts free of charge to several charities and organisations in need as part of their Community Quilt Program which receives donations from quilters across the state. After donating to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s Haematology Care Centre over many years, WAQA members recently began donating to the Hospital’s Dialysis Unit.

Dialysis Clinical Nurse Specialist Jon Hosking said they had presented the 38 quilts to patients whose treatment requires that they lay in chair or bed for several hours whilst connected to a dialysis machine for their treatment, and that all quilts were gratefully received.

“The patients’ faces light up when they receive such a generous gift from a total stranger,” Mr Hosking said. “They are fantastically colourful, many with particular themes, so as well as being very practical and providing warmth, they also brighten our dialysis unit,” he said.

Convenor of the Community Quilt Program Alison Scott said the majority of all quilts provided for donation were fully funded by the quilter him/herself.

“Quilting tends to be quite addictive and as well as providing quilts to friends and family, most quilters love nothing more than to know that their masterpieces are being presented to someone who will use and enjoy the quilt,” said Mrs Scott.

Patient David Pugh received one of the quilts and said it provided much comfort whilst undergoing the tiring ritual of dialysis.

“It was a surprise, very thoughtful and I’d like to say thank you to the quilters for taking the time to make the quilts.”

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