Bathurst Base Hospital has received a generous donation from a national charity specialising in providing life-saving medical equipment for sick or injured children.
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The Humpty Dumpty Foundation has donated $14,700 worth of equipment to the hospital, including a Connex Vital Signs Monitor and a ‘Humpty’s Breath of Life’ unit.
Announced last year as part of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation’s Balmoral Run fundraising event, the donation was made on behalf of the Hutchinson family to honour the memory of the late Tony Hutchinson.
Mr Hutchinson was born and raised in Bathurst, and his wife Barbara Hutchinson was present to see the donation presented.
“I felt this donation was a way of doing something nice in my late husband's name,” Ms Hutchinson said.
“Regional hospitals need a lot of help and considering my family's close connection to Bathurst, the decision of which hospital to donate to was an easy one.”
Ms Hutchinson’s eldest son Luke still lives in Bathurst with his family, and was also in attendance at the presentation.
The Connex Monitor will be used to assess children’s vital signs, including temperature, blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels.
In addition, the 'Humpty’s Breath of Life’ unit features a series of contraptions designed to provide temporary respiratory support for children prior to being transferred to a tertiary hospital.
Bathurst Base Hospital’s nurse unit manager of paediatrics Shirley Roberts said the new equipment allows for more efficient care of critically ill children while waiting for emergency services.
“Emergency teams can sometimes experience delays due to weather and traffic events, and this equipment allows us to keep children stable,” Ms Roberts said.
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Ms Roberts said the paediatric ward cares for around 80 to 100 patients a month, and that the partnership with the Humpty Dumpty Foundation is vital in sourcing new equipment.
“Funding doesn’t come easily for these things, and having extra equipment makes it easier for ill children and their families,” she said.
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
