The Big Space Cancer Appeal-
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About our charity and what we stand for
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Helping Hearts: A new ECG machine has been funded for Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Thanks to your support, a state-of-the-art ECG (electrocardiogram) machine is helping patients at our Trauma and Orthopaedics Department.
An ECG is used to test and record the electrical activity of the heart. There are a number of different reasons why a patient may require an ECG, including diagnosing heart attacks, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats and monitoring the effects of medication. It can also be a useful way of ruling out certain problems.
An ECG is a relatively simple test with 10 electrodes used to record 12 different elements of your heart’s electrical impulses. On our Trauma and Orthopaedics Ward, patients may require an ECG as part of the preparation for surgery and previously they would need to be sent to a different department. This could result in delays in operating and also the requirement for a second appointment if an ECG machine was not available during the time of their outpatient appointment.
Sheeba David, Trauma and Orthopaedics Outpatients Sister, explained how this charity-funded equipment is already making a difference for patients.
“Our department would not routinely have their own ECG machine, but we identified that by having our own we could reduce delays, decrease wait times and improve the service flow to surgery. Many of our team were already trained to use this equipment so it was a great way to make use of their knowledge to support our patients.”
“Without the need for additional appointments, it also helped to cut down on patient’s travel time, parking and time spent at the hospital. We are incredibly grateful to the supporters of the hospitals charity for funding this equipment which is hugely benefitting both our patients and staff - Thank you!”
Thank you to everyone who donated to help fund this innovative technology to improve the patient experience at our hospitals.
Making hospital life better
