MAJOR Hospital Cash Boost From Tea Bar Proceeds

THE League of Hospital Friends in Inverclyde has been able to fund around £210,000 worth of equipment in the past year.

The charity operates The Helen Wyllie Tea Bar at Inverclyde Royal Hospital which is open seven days a week providing staff, patients and visitors with teas, coffees, soft drinks, filled rolls and a wide variety of bakery items. All proceeds go back into the hospital to assist with patient care.

The charity’s executive committee receives bids for funding from wards and departments.

The biggest project to be approved was £121,000 for the Hepatology and Gastroenterology Unit for an advanced scanner to detect issues in the liver, enabling doctors to decide on the most appropriate treatment plan for patients.

Clinical nurse specialist Anna Burns said: “We now have the most up-to-date equipment in the whole of Greater Glasgow and Clyde and as a result patients do not have to travel to Paisley or Glasgow.

Colleague David Wilson said: “The scanner also prevents patients having to undergo a biopsy which is invasive and carries significant risks.”

Other successful bids were:

— £32,000 for equipment to enable expansion of the Emergency Department and to ensure safe monitoring and observation of acutely unwell patients admitted to the Emergency Department.

— £14,000 for defibrillator equipment for Wards 1 and 2 in the Larkfield Unit.

Peter Hempsey, chairperson of the local League of Hospital Friends said: “The Tea Bar is staffed entirely by volunteers and we are delighted to be able to assist patient care within IRH by funding a wide variety of bids for items of equipment, some small such as a few chairs or TVs for wards, or much larger items such as the scanner which is now in use and which is improving outcomes for patients and given a real boost to the morale of staff in the Hepatology Department.”

Mary McKnight, the Tea Bar convener, said: “The Tea Bar turnover is now over £7,000 per week thanks to the custom from staff, patients and visitors to the hospital. Our volunteers see their efforts are so worthwhile when they realise where the money raised is going.”