The League of Friends of
Bexhill Hospital -
Working for the good of
Local patients since 1952
Reg. CIO Charity No 1169175 Sunbeams 41 Broad Oak Lane Bexhill-on-Sea TN39 4LG Email info@bexhillhospitalfriends.org.uk
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The MRI Scanner was opened by Princess Ann and is named in memory of Stuart Earl
League makes life easier for patients
REPRESENTATIVES of the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital and the Conquest Hospital Friends gathered in the Hastings hospital on Tuesday, April 9th for a special purpose.
Together, the two charities have funded the £55,425 cost of three pieces of equipment which will make visits to the Conquest much easier for some patients.
Endoscopy is an exploratory technique performed by inserting a camera tube in the gullet. This is usually performed without sedation or anaesthesia.
However, for many people the procedure is so unpleasant that they have to be sedated or anaesthetized, so slowing the process.
Now there is a far less unpleasant alternative, equipment involving a tube only half the diameter of its predecessor and which is inserted via the nose.
Previously, the Conquest Hospital endoscopy department had only one transnasal endoscopy device that would solve this problem and that was reserved for use with children.
Both groups of hospital friends responded to a Bid (hospital request) when unit Matron Myra Mendoza explained that purchase of a second scope would allow the department to treat more people while giving them a more agreeable experience.
In her submission, the Matron said: “Using these TNE scopes would help to reduce the cost and total duration of procedures, as well as being more comfortable for patients than alternative options.
“In our case, having transnasal endoscopy embedded in our service will reduce waiting times for patients referred to gastroscopy under enhanced sedation or general anaesthesia.”
The Bexhill League’s General Committee was told the purchase by the two groups of hospital friends would enable the department to perform TNA procedures on up to 12 patients on each list compared with one or two previously.
The Bexhill League of Friends agreed to join the Conquest Friends in the project having heard that a high proportion of the patients who would benefit from the new equipment would be from Bexhill.
In the Endoscopy Unit on April 9th, Matron cited the example of patient Ellen. She had previously had to undergo anaesthesia in order to have an endoscopy but had now been able to have the procedure without sedation thanks to the new transnasal equipment.
Thanking representatives of the two groups of hospital friends, Consultant Dr Stephen Fong said their joint gift was making it possible for patients to undergo essential diagnosis with minimal discomfort and without recourse to anaesthesia, so making the unit more efficient and able to assist more patients.
The Bexhill League was represented at the photo-call by President and Secretary John Dowling and committee members Bridget Hollingsworth and Harriet Chapman.
REPRESENTATIVES of the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital and the Conquest Hospital Friends gathered in the Hastings hospital on Tuesday, April 9th for a special purpose.
Together, the two charities have funded the £55,425 cost of three pieces of equipment which will make visits to the Conquest much easier for some patients.
Endoscopy is an exploratory technique performed by inserting a camera tube in the gullet. This is usually performed without sedation or anaesthesia.
However, for many people the procedure is so unpleasant that they have to be sedated or anaesthetized, so slowing the process.
Now there is a far less unpleasant alternative, equipment involving a tube only half the diameter of its predecessor and which is inserted via the nose.
Previously, the Conquest Hospital endoscopy department had only one transnasal endoscopy device that would solve this problem and that was reserved for use with children.
Both groups of hospital friends responded to a Bid (hospital request) when unit Matron Myra Mendoza explained that purchase of a second scope would allow the department to treat more people while giving them a more agreeable experience.
In her submission, the Matron said: “Using these TNE scopes would help to reduce the cost and total duration of procedures, as well as being more comfortable for patients than alternative options.
“In our case, having transnasal endoscopy embedded in our service will reduce waiting times for patients referred to gastroscopy under enhanced sedation or general anaesthesia.”
The Bexhill League’s General Committee was told the purchase by the two groups of hospital friends would enable the department to perform TNA procedures on up to 12 patients on each list compared with one or two previously.
The Bexhill League of Friends agreed to join the Conquest Friends in the project having heard that a high proportion of the patients who would benefit from the new equipment would be from Bexhill.
In the Endoscopy Unit on April 9th, Matron cited the example of patient Ellen. She had previously had to undergo anaesthesia in order to have an endoscopy but had now been able to have the procedure without sedation thanks to the new transnasal equipment.
Thanking representatives of the two groups of hospital friends, Consultant Dr Stephen Fong said their joint gift was making it possible for patients to undergo essential diagnosis with minimal discomfort and without recourse to anaesthesia, so making the unit more efficient and able to assist more patients.
The Bexhill League was represented at the photo-call by President and Secretary John Dowling and committee members Bridget Hollingsworth and Harriet Chapman.
League to spend £558,000
THE League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital is buying half a million pounds worth of sight-saving equipment for the hospital.
The decision was made at a meeting which saw the charity invest a total of £558,000 for the benefit of local patients.
Ten years ago East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust wanted to convert redundant x-ray plate storage space into a unit specializing in the treatment of wet macular degeneration, the largest cause of sight loss in the Western world.
Under that project, the Trust covered the cost of building conversion and the League funded the necessary equipment, so creating the hospital’s Dowling Unit.
But demand for the eye swiftly overtook the available space.
Now, by creating the new Community Diagnostic Hub in Beeching Road and transferring services such as radiography there the Trust has created space in the hospital for the enlargement of ophthalmic services.
In a presentation to the League’s General Committee, the Trust’s Bexhill Ophthalmic Unit Matron .Lesley Carter, explained how the unit was being transformed into the Dowling Retinal Suite, more than double in size and capable of helping 100 patients a day from across the Trust area with a range of eye problems including diabetes.
She explained how the equipment she was seeking from the League would ensure that local eye patients had the best possible care.
The equipment is costing a total of £502,286.
In response to a second Trust Bid (request), the meeting also approved the £42,960 purchase of an OptoMize Medisoft connector – a software tool for communicating ophthalmology screening and treatment between the diabetic eye screening programme and the hospital’s eye screening department.
The Bexhill League is also pledging £100,000 to kick-start a major appeal fund to be launched soon to improve another service for local patients.
The Bexhill League’s meeting also approved a request for £12,591.33 for seven Medisave examination couches for Little Common GP practice and a £177.45 request from Bexhill Primary Care Network for blood pressure measuring equipment and medical kit bags for use in clinics and on home visits.
