Thanks to George for this update from the Friends of St Mary’s Hospital. Ed
The ability of Accident and Emergency staff to rapidly establish a patient’s full blood count has been provided by the Friends, with a grant of £8,000.
A point of care full blood count analyser is now in place in A&E’s newly created Trauma Unit, which deals with some of the sickest patients.
Dr Robert Andrews, A&E consultant, explained,
“The equipment enables us to now obtain results in minutes rather than hours, therefore allowing rapid commencement of treatment, which will save lives. We quickly discover how much blood a person has lost in the event of a trauma, and whether there is any very serious or overwhelming infection.”
He said the purchase outright of the analyser was more cost effective than an annual rental.
“We are so pleased our bid to the Friends was successful.”
The analyser was just the latest of several items of medical equipment purchased by the charity for A&E, another recent one being a £4,293 hand-held ultra sound probe.
