A HOSPITAL charity has helped buy specialist equipment for larger patients undergoing surgical procedures at Airedale Hospital.

The Friends of Airedale donated £8,500 to the hospital’s theatres department to buy a pair of bariatric leg supports which are used to raise and move larger patients’ legs during operations.

The hydraulic leg supports used previously allow patients up to a weight of 159kg to be manoeuvred and positioned.

However, increasingly, the theatres department at Airedale Hospital has been receiving patients who are heavier than this, which required additional equipment to ensure the patients’ legs can be moved safely.