Staff at Furness General Hospital (FGH) were today presented with £9000 worth of new equipment – thanks to the generosity of the charity Hospital Equipment Fund for Furness (HEFF) and the local people from Barrow who support the HEFF charity shop in the town.
Since their formation in 1983, HEFF have raised well in excess of £1million, which is an incredible testament to the charity, its volunteers, supporters and all the local people who support the HEFF shop on Cavendish Street.
The new equipment, which includes a specialist chair for the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) costing £5000 was purchased along with three electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors costing £4000 for the hospital’s Clinical Investigations department.
Allyn Dow, Ward Manager on ICU at FGH said: “We’re very grateful to all the HEFF committee members for all their hard work, commitment and support and on behalf of everyone at the Trust we cannot thank them enough for their fantastic support.
“The new ICU Sertain chair will enable the patients we care for to begin their rehabilitation process earlier by getting them out of bed and supporting them into a sitting position, even whilst they are on a ventilator. The early mobilisation and psychological benefit that the chair offers also helps speed up a patient’s recovery and potentially gets them home from hospital much quicker.”
Kay Sharrock, Clinical Investigations Manager at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT) said: “The new ECG monitors, which HEFF have kindly donated are portable devices which allow our patient’s to take them home – allowing care to be delivered closer to home. The monitors track the electrical activity of a patient’s heart and records it, allowing us to analyse their heart’s rhythm and detect any potential irregularities and any cardiac issues that may lead to more serious health problems, such as a stroke or heart attack. Having these new additional ECG monitors also help us reduce waiting times. Thanks to everyone at HEFF for their fantastic support.”
John Dixon, Chair of the HEFF Committee said: “The HEFF committee and all our volunteers in the shop work hard, raising funds for equipment for FGH year on year and have done so for the past 35 years.
“The HEFF charity shop in Barrow is run by a team of dedicated volunteers and the shop is well supported by our local community. Every penny we make in the shop, and from fundraising is raised locally by local people to support their local hospital so local people really do benefit. FGH is very important to the people of Barrow.”
Judith Read, Charity Coordinator at Bay Hospitals Charity, adds: “HEFF work tirelessly raising funds for FGH and the new equipment is already in use and making a difference to patients. On behalf of Bay Hospitals Charity, the Trust and all the staff at FGH we offer them our heartfelt thanks.”
Bay Hospitals Charity is a registered charity that raises funds and supports UHMBT’s five hospital sites. Donations made to the charity go to providing those extras that go ‘above and beyond’ what the NHS is currently able to support to help make the hospital experience better or improve outcomes for local people.
Money is used to fund additional medical equipment, specialist training for staff and also goes towards improving the physical hospital environment.
If you would like to fundraise for a special hospital ward at FGH that’s close to your heart, please visit: http://www.bayhospitalscharity.org/donate
