QEH’s Paediatric Department gets needed equipment

Children under care of the Paediatrics Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and the staff who take care of them will be operating with a greater degree of comfort, as a result of the work of the Rotary Club of Barbados South Charitable Trust and donations from CIBC Caribbean and the Bridge Supermarket.

Dr Gillian Birchwood, head of Paediatrics at the QEH, warmly thanked the donors for their generous donation of $75 000 in equipment which, she said, would greatly contribute to increased patient care and comfort within the department.

She gave a brief description of some of the items which included a toddler bed, with adjustable heights for safety; a kyelle emergency and rest chair (also called a kangaroo chair), which will allow mothers to sit for longer periods with their premature babies; four infant bassinets for premature babies; an infant toddler bed with side bars; and a triad treatment/procedure chair for children with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy.

Along with the equipment, there were also eight bedside cabinets which will be used for storage of the individual patient’s belongings.

This initiative began a few years ago when Dr Erin Trotman, recognising the need for additional equipment in the paediatric ward, approached the Rotary Club of Barbados South with a view to acquiring the needed equipment. The Trust Committee wholeheartedly lent their support, agreeing to partner with Dr Trotman and her parents, Maria and Michael Trotman, owners of the Bridge Supermarket. CIBC Caribbean, having been invited to become part of the initiative, became its major sponsor, and together they were able to source and purchase some of the much-needed equipment.

Marcel Murrell, past president of Rotary Club of Barbados South, and under whose presidency the project started, expressed the club’s happiness in making the donation, one of many undertaken by the members of the club.

He spoke with pride about the millions of Rotarians around the world who, through various service projects, embody their motto: “Service Above Self.”

Kemar Polius, head of Country Barbados, CIBC Caribbean, said that the bank was equally happy to have been a part of the project which, he explained, had taken a while to be completed, as the items donated had to be specially ordered. He said the bank’s donation of $40 000 was funded through its ComTrust Foundation, which operates on three pillars, health and wellness, youth and education, and the environment, and was pleased to have assisted the Rotary Club of Barbados South in achieving this goal by touching upon two of these three essential pillars.

Also in attendance to support the cause was the current President of Rotary Club of Barbados South, Jacklyn Broomes, along with a number of committee and other club members.

(PR)