By Trudy Harper

THE Charity Fund at Princess Alexandra Hospital has received a fantastic donation of £20,000 for the Williams Day Unit. The Unit delivers treatment to oncology and haematology patients which is often ongoing and needs the insertion of a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter.

This procedure is very precise and historically has involved transfer to other departments for x-ray to confirm correct positioning.

The Day Unit at Princess Alexandra Hospital is developing a Vascular Access team with Clinical Nurse Specialists who will be able to perform this procedure in the unit with new equipment bought with the donation. The Site Rite 8 Console Pack uses ultra sound to help specialists visualize veins, understand needle trajectory and locate the final tip position.

Jamie Pring, The Hospital Trust Fund Raising coordinator said ‘This is a fantastic donation which has secured a piece of state of the art equipment that has transformed the service immensely by providing valuable equipment for the newly established unit vascular team’.

The funds come from The Christine Willet Trust who support a number of Hospital’s in Essex and raise money through quiz nights, golf days and collection boxes. The Trust has been supporting cancer wards in Essex since 1993