June 2011

Young patients benefit from M&Gs generosity

Young patients will benefit from a brand new ultrasound scanner that has been bought thanks to a massive donation of £33,000 from M&G Investments. 

Dr Mahesh Babu, paediatric consultant, said: “We are immensely grateful to M&G for this extraordinarily generous donation to buy an up-to-date scanner.  It’s compact and portable so we can move it around the children’s services to where it’s needed most." 

Jacqui Banks, senior sister said: “This new equipment means that families don’t have the expense and the long day of travelling to London, and with the extra funds provided by M&G to refurbish the department with stickers and toys, children can have treatment and heart scans in a child friendly environment”. 

Lady Visitors are a comfort to patients

Blood tests for patients at St Peter’s Hospital in Maldon will be little more comfortable thanks to new chairs that kindly donated by the lady visitors.

The lady visitors are the volunteers who run the hospital’s tea bar and this year they decided to use their profits to buy two new chairs for patients to use whilst having their blood tests.

Dulcie McCormack, lady visitors secretary, said: “Our 14 volunteers take it turns to man the tea bar and I know they will be pleased to see the proceeds put to such good use in the phlebotomy clinic.”

Yvonne Carter, charities support office, thanked the lady visitors for helping to enhance the patient experience.  She said: “We are very grateful to the lady visitors, not only for helping to provide these extra chairs, but for the friendly, welcoming service they give to everyone at St. Peter’s Hospital.”

Game, set and match for Pete and Chris

Those that couldn’t make it to the centre court at Wimbledon this year got to enjoy the next best thing right here at the hospital.

Pete Downs, a patient at the pain clinic, took on physiotherapist Chris Clarke-Irons in a charity tennis match to raise funds for the Pain Clinic. Pete set himself a personal challenge to play tennis again after many years of disabling back pain and gave Chris a real run for his money on the day – despite Chris winning by 8 games to 5.

Spectators were treated to traditional strawberries and cream and also had the chance to win some fantastic raffle prizes. With the proceeds from the raffle, sponsorship and donations the pain clinic made nearly £2,000 for their charitable funds, which will go towards funding additional equipment and amenities for the pain management course.

Pete said that he thoroughly enjoyed the match and can’t wait to play again. He continued: “For the last 15 years I have been watching Wimbledon on TV, so to have played this match just before the tournament started means a lot to me.  I am really pleased with the support that everyone gave; it really was a team effort, from the ball girls to the photographer and the people who donated raffle prizes.”

Afternoon tea benefits BRA charitable fund

Over 90 ladies attended the very first ‘butterfly tea’ in aid of the Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) charity.

The event was organised by the breast reconstruction nurses and raised nearly £1,500 for the charity.  Jayne Knight, clinical nurse specialist and founder member of the charity, thanked everyone for their generosity and took the opportunity to launch their new pin badges. 

Jayne singled out patient, Sandra Turner for very personal thanks in helping in the production of the badges and said: "These are really pretty badges and represent our charity perfectly.  We will be selling them at the hospital and at all our future events".

At the same event patient Jennette Wright of Basildon based company, IFDS Limited, presented a donation of nearly £750 from a dress down day and other fundraising events.  She said: “I know from personal experience how important it is to support the breast reconstruction nurses and the work they do for patients.  They were an incredible support to me when I needed it most, so I am pleased that my work colleagues have helped me to say thank you in this way".

Michelle goes the distance for cancer care unit

The cancer care unit has been given a boost of over £700 thanks to a fitness enthusiast who used her latest challenge to show her appreciation for the care received by her father.

Michelle Tavner decided to run the Halstead marathon in aid of the unit after seeing first hand how staff use charitable donations to provide extra amenities like reflexology, counselling and patient information, that benefit patients receiving treatment for cancer.  She said: “I started running a couple of years ago in a bid to boost my fitness, and I thought running a marathon would give me a goal to keep me motivated. I wanted to raise money for the unit specifically as the staff have been looking after my Dad so well over the last few years and this seemed like a good way to say thank you for all they have done and help them continue to provide such excellent care to other patients.”

Matt Riddleston, lead cancer nurse, said: “We’re extremely grateful to Michelle for this brilliant donation, which will enable us fund complimentary treatments for our patients helping make their time on the unit a little more comfortable.”