Stand aside COVID, Lower Blue Mountains Rotary and its Friends of Nepean Emergency committee has delivered a vital piece of patient care equipment when most other charity organisations have shut up shop.
The emergency department at Nepean Hospital has been pushing for a new hand scanner for some time. Rotary's Friends of Nepean Emergency (FONE) normally provide support by way of children's resources and volunteering services in the busy emergency department but COVID lockdown conditions have made such contact service impossible for some months.
A new ultrasound hand scanner was suggested when FONE asked about other ways it could provide support.
Costing $10,000, FONE set to work conducting raffles, selling Christmas ornaments and other activities. Fund raising was not easy but Lower Blue Mountains Club made up the shortfall and the machine was purchased in June, just in time to assist with care of COVID patients.
The hand held scanner has now arrived and is proving very popular. It is easier to use, more mobile, and a better experience for patients when they require an intravenous cannula to be inserted. In simple terms, the machine will be used to help locate small or difficult veins in patients - especially babies, children, the elderly or obese.
