3 February 2009
The St Helier Hospital League of Friends has made a donation of more than £215,000 to the hospital's renal and cardiology departments, helping to fund new equipment, including a reverse osmosis machine worth £45,000. The Friends were able to make the donation after being left a generous gift in the will of a supporter.
Joint lead nurse from the renal unit, Sue Woodcock said: "We are very grateful to the League of Friends for their donation. The reverse osmosis machine is a brilliant piece of equipment and is invaluable to the patients on the ward. It means we can carry out dialysis at the patient's bedside rather than having to wheel them to the dialysis unit.
"This machine will make life more comfortable for our patients, because we can treat them from the comfort of their own beds. It'll also mean that the risk of infection is reduced because staff and patients will not have to move from ward to ward."
The League of Friends has also paid for a new heart monitoring machine in the Coronary Care Unit, worth £145,000 and a cardiac monitor in the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) worth £25,000.
Both machines constantly check patient's heart rhythm and transmit the results to the nurse's station. This gives staff more information about the patient's heart and how it is responding to treatment. It also ensures staff can pick up any changes in the heart function as quickly as possible and allows the cardiologists to view the monitor remotely - even from outside the hospital - so that they can give the best advice to staff during non-working hours.
Dr Richard Bogle, Lead Consultant Cardiologist said: "We are so grateful to the League of Friends for their generous donation. The new equipment will improve the care we give to patients, including cutting the amount of time they have to stay in hospital."
The St Helier League of Friends is currently looking for volunteers and members. To find out more, or to join, call Val and her team on 020 8296 2442.
