Members of the Friends met with Matron Harriet, Midwives Hope & Su, Therapy Assistant, Alex and MCA Emma… Seen here demonstrating how to use the equipment.

They explained that many ladies…. both pre and post childbirth will benefit from being able to use the standing aid – which enables a dignified patient transfer between bed and chair, bed to bathroom etc. where sometimes ladies have mobility issues or post-surgery weakness. It was a pleasure to visit the department and see the Sara Steady in action!

We are pleased to have donated £13,800 to the Manual Handling team which has funded 2 Hoverjacks. It was exciting for members of the Friends to meet with Manual Handling Advisors Bernadette & Scott and Falls Improvement Specialist Practitioner, Carrie for a demonstration!

The Hoverjack, they explained, is used to retrieve a patient from a fall… by easily sliding the fabric ‘bag’ beneath the patient. Once in place (and with staff reassuring the patient) warm air gently inflates the ‘bag’ and comfortably elevates the patient from the ground… distributing their weight accordingly and providing the correct spinal support.

Staff are in control of how much inflation is required etc. The ‘bag’ which has now become a type of mattress… sits on 4 inflated chambers of air which then raises the ‘mattress’ to bed/trolley height… allowing comfortable transfer from Hoverjack to bed/trolley.

Carrie said… “the Hoverjack acts just like a Hovercraft and can be used in all sorts of situations.” They are lightweight and portable and we can see why they are so pleased with them!

The Friends are pleased to have funded these items which, added to the existing Neo-Natal unit equipment, means there is now a breast pump available for every new mum!

We met with Jackie (Senior Sister) and Sandra (Unit Housekeeping) who told us how having this amount of equipment readily available reduces the level of stress for new mums. “Breast milk, Jackie added, is like medicine for each baby …. so mum being able to take a ‘compact breast pump’ home to express milk whilst baby is on the ward is perfect … and there is no charge for borrowing the equipment.”

The department is currently working towards a Stage 2 accreditation of the Baby Friendly Initiative – a programme to support families in developing close and loving relationships with their newborns and Stage 2 of the Bliss Charter Accreditation – a practical framework for Neo-natal units to self-assess the quality of care they deliver against a set of core principles.

The Friends donation of this equipment totalling £4,299 is a positive step towards achieving these goals.

We have 4 wards specifically relating to ‘care of the elderly’ at Broomfield Hospital. The Friends are pleased to have committed to funding toiletries for each of these wards throughout 2024. We have already delivered the first 2 months … which have been gratefully received by staff and patients.

Each month’s supply contains a large range of branded toiletries (ladies & gents), which we sincerely hope will make a difference to our patients’ hospital experience. Just the smell of some familiar toiletries that may remind them of home may make their day more comfortable.

Primarily these toiletries are to support patients that come into hospital with no toiletries of their own … they may be care home residents or simply have no family … many of them will be dementia patients who aren’t able to fend for themselves … or … it could simply be a patient who has forgotten one item in their own toilet bag, which we are happy to provide, to enhance their stay.

We are always keen to support our patients and nursing staff, so hopefully this will put a smile on some patients’ faces and be beneficial to their wellbeing. Our grateful thanks to the Housekeeping staff who are managing this stock within the wards and making sure it is being distributed to those patients that are in need.

The Friends donation for the full year will total approximately £6,400.

The Friends are pleased to have provided funding of £4,344 for two more tilt chairs for Therapy Services.

We asked Louise Panella, Lead Therapist, her opinion … she said … 

“The 2 adjustable Milano chairs gifted by the Friends at Broomfield Hospital in March 2023 are being used throughout the hospital under the care of Therapy Services. The provision of the 2 additional ‘pink’ Tilt Chairs has been amazing and well received by the therapy staff, patients and wards alike.

Not only do these chairs provide the initial stepping stones in supporting patients’ recovery and transitioning them from being in bed to sitting out, but they also allow patients to work on functional and daily activities that we take for granted.  This may be engaging with meals or socialising with visitors. 

It also empowers the Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists to facilitate this journey by having the necessary tools at hand. Some patients have additional seating positional needs that are not met by the standard static high back armchair nor the recliner chairs typically found on the wards.  If they were sat out in such chairs they would be at a very high risk of falling.

As such this patient group are typically left in bed for prolonged periods of time which exacerbates their functional decline and increases the challenges to both patient and staff to support recovery. They are vulnerable to being dependent on others, having periods of low mood, and a loss of sense of self and motivation.“

As you can see, just a ‘chair’ can make such a difference to patient recovery. This is a particularly special donation by the Friends … as the pink chairs are in memory of our longest serving Friend … Barbara Coupe. She was a ray of sunshine and loved everything pink!

Volunteers from the Friends at Broomfield are pictured here taking a look at the Mobile Phone charging station that has been installed in A&E.

The charging station was presented to A&E and allows patients, visitors and staff to charge their mobile phones ‘free of charge’ whilst they are visiting the department. 

At a cost of £1,836 donated by the Friends … we hope that the charging station will relieve a small level of patients’ stress whilst in A&E in helping them to stay in urgent contact with their family and friends.