Help for paediatric unit at QEH

The Paediatric Ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is in dire need of equipment to ensure its efficient operation.

Nursing officer of the Paediatric Department, Cherry Jackman-Collymore recently said that equipment such as cardiac monitors were high on the list.

“Some larger equipment like our cardiac monitors and our infusion pumps are needed. This equipment makes monitoring the children much easier and giving the care to the children is easier as well, when we have those things.”

“As time goes on, things become obsolete, and moving with technology, we do need to keep abreast with things that are happening. If you put a monitor on a child, you can easily monitor the vital signs and so on much better, so it’s much needed at this time,” she said.

The nursing officer’s comments followed a presentation of toiletries by the Optimist Club of Barbados – Bridgetown.

While thanking the club, Jackman-Collymore said donations from other entities would be greatly appreciated.

Toiletries needed

“I just want to say thank you to the Optimist Club for this donation of pampers. There are times when we may be short of pampers, especially for the newborns. So any donation of pampers is welcomed so we ensure that when the children come to the hospital it’s as stress-free as possible for the parents.

“We also always need toiletries which are very helpful to patients in social cases that we have. Fans are always welcome. Coming on to the summer months, the unit can get pretty hot and we do need to have some fans for the patients,” she added.

President of the Optimist Club Barbados – Bridgetown Alana Alleyne said after hearing of the unit’s need, they jumped at the opportunity to donate.

“We were informed that they were certain items that the hospital needed most, so today we donated pampers, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpaste. We agreed to donate as much as we could to the hospital,” she said.

Alleyne said the donation was part of their yearly presentations and fell under this year’s overall theme Spread The Optimism.

“This presentation falls under the theme Spread The Love, so we, as Optimists, are trying to spread the love wherever and however we can,” she added.

Alleyne encouraged more young people to join the club to assist with its work. (DB)