League of Friends' £146,000 Christmas gift to patients

THE Christmas spirit prevailed at last evening's League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital committee meeting.

The committee approved every hospital request put before it, investing a total of 146,614 on vitally-needed new medical equipment for the benefit of Bexhill patients and others.

David Philliskirk, director of estates and parks for East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust is the new Trust representative who will attend the start of league meetings to explain the need for requested equipment and the use to which it will be put.

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The meeting agreed to buy a 4,250 motor-driven exercise bike and upper limb trainer for the physiotherapy unit at the Bexhill Hospital. It will help paralysis and spasticity patients increase their muscle power.

The league will pay 12,005 for nasal endoscopes for use with critical care patients at the Conquest Hospital.

It is buying two 992 blood pressure and oxygen saturation monitors for Newington Ward plus a specialist stand for the equipment.

A 4,105 gift will buy a retromolar intubation endoscope for use with both elective and emergency patients in theatre.

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A 48,887 endoscopic stack system will give surgeons a better surgical view of patients undergoing specialist procedures, including orthopaedics, urology, gynaecology and ENT work.

Patients experiencing difficulty passing urine after bladder surgery will benefit from the purchase of two 8,965 bladder scanners.

A scope guide costing 57,000 will allow more than one clinician to observe the gastro intestinal tract and improve the accuracy of diagnosis.

The decision to fund every Trust request was taken after lengthy debate. The committee was concerned to ensure that Bexhill patients being treated at the Conquest, the distinct's acute hospital, should have the benefit of the latest and best equipment.

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The league has sought a major scheme in which it could invest at the Bexhill site.

Treasurer Robin Barnett gave his report to the committee before members had made their decisions on the hospital requests.

He said the league had assets of 2,683,523 after paying for gifts totalling 135,000 agreed at previous meetings.

Despite the recent falls in interest rates, its investments had earned 147,163 so far this year and one more quarterly payment to come from the high-income Charities Official Investment Fund would bring this to around 200,000.

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Last Thursday's spending was in addition to gifts totalling 313,706 made so far this year. Some 73% of the league's spending had been on Bexhill Hospital.

The treasurer reported that 24,901 had been received under the will of Eva Sly; 15,000 from that of Jacquie Luck; 12,000 from former league membership secretary Joan Corke; up to 140,000 was expected from the legacy of John Day; 60,000 from Maud Philip; 20,000 from alan Toze and 100 from Olive Daisy.

Charles Everett, chairman of Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust, which has responsibility for the Irvine Unit at Bexhill Hospital, told league members: "I do thank you for your commitment and engagement with the life of the hospital because I think it is absolutely vital to the work of the hospital and the work of the PCT."

He said he wanted to repeat the Trust's commitment to the future of the Irvine Unit made by Alice Webster, Trust head of adult services, at the September meeting.

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The Trust had dealt with the problem of falling standards of care at the unit by putting new staff and new measures in place.

It was now about to invest heavily in a scheme to make the unit's toilets and bathrooms fully accessible to the disabled.

The Trust had set up a committee to look at how best it could develop the unit to make it a centre of excellence in care and rehabilitation.

League officers will be making their traditional ward visit to the Irvine Unit of Christmas Morning, bringing gifts from the charity for patients.