Bedford Hospital Charity & Friends has exciting news to announce – they are launching a new appeal
In the summer, the government announced that Bedford Hospital would receive Covid-19 funding of £3.1M to update and extend the A&E department for the hospital.
The charity have been invited to enhance this provision by creating a brand new dedicated Paediatric A&E department and providing a CT scanner to be situated in the A&E department for shared use by both emergency and general hospital patients.
They have jumped at this opportunity as it has long been a wish and dream of the charity to have a special A&E provision in the hospital for children.
Discussions have taken place as to ways in which they can use their creative skills and provide those extra facilities and special touches that will really make the unit child-friendly and welcoming.
Bedford Hospital Charity & Friends need to raise £1million urgently for:
- A new and dedicated A&E for children
- A new state of the art CT scanner within the A&E Department
The charity has received an incredibly generous donation of £25,000 from Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara (GGSG) in Kempston which is going to ‘kick start’ the appeal.
This is the single biggest cash donation made by any ethnic group and any faith group of Bedfordshire.
This whole campaign was started by three elderly persons of the Sikh community during Covid-19 to convey their thanks to NHS staff and Bedford Hospital for its amazing work.
They have lived and worked here for over 50 years and state: “Our local communities always received great care by our local hospital and the work and support NHS staff has been giving during Covid-19 is commendable.
“We wanted to give something back to our local hospital and decided to support Bedford Hospital Charity & Friend’s appeal, raising £1 million for new equipment and dedicated children’s facilities in the A&E unit.
“We hope this contribution will help to improve A&E facilities for all patients. We would like to thank the Bedford’s entire Sikh community and everyone who donated in response to our appeal.”
The charity really needs every single one of you to join them in raising funds for this wonderful new facility. There are many way in which you can help …
- Organise an event
- Run a marathon or set a personal challenge
- Hold a coffee morning (virtual or real)
- Have a collection
- Send a memorial donation
The charity can supply leaflets and information to help you help us all! Please do get in touch with them at admin@bedhospcharity.org to let them know how they can support you.
A separate, dedicated paediatric A&E has long been an aim of the Charity and now it is within reach.
The installation of a Computerised Tomography (CT) X-ray machine within the A&E Department will significantly improve the service.
Currently about ten patients attending the department per day require an immediate CT scan.
The nearest scanner is in the main X-ray Dept and patients have to be wheeled along long corridors, accompanied by a doctor, nurse and porter, to wait for a scan squeezed between routine patients booked for scans.
Having a CT scanner in the department will:
- improve immediate management e.g. of stroke and head injury patients
- release A&E staff to care for other patients
- provide additional CT capacity for inpatients from the wards. (There would be a separate access for these patients)
- Reduce delays for booked patients in the main CT unit
Chairman of the Charity, Deborah Inskip, stated that: “This new paediatric A&E department and, indeed, the entire A&E will give Bedford Hospital the ability to respond to all emergencies and, equally importantly, ensure the continued excellence of the provision of care in Bedford.”
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