Bowled over by local support
Alice House Hospice has received £1,000 donation to purchase a syringe driver from kind hearted quizzers at Hartlepool Indoor Bowls Club.
Each Saturday the club hosts a quiz night. At the end of the quiz all members of each team pays £1 to enter the tie breaker to win a bottle of wine. The pounds are collected over the year and the three teams that win the most tie-breakers nominate a charity to receive a third of the total raised. One of the winning teams The Bee Gees nominated Alice House Hospice.
Rebecca Jobson, Senior Manager Fundraising at the Hospice said, “Patients can live with their condition or disease for many years and require complex symptom management to reduce pain, control side effects like difficulties with walking and eating, or circulatory problems and receive treatments/medication. Syringe drivers are light weight, compact and are electronically controlled to deliver crucial medication under the skin. This means patients don’t have to undergo repeated painful injections as the medication is absorbed through the subcutaneous tissue. Taking medicine orally can also be avoided which is advantageous if a patient is very nauseous, has trouble swallowing or has any health issues which prevent effective digestion. The device is portable, in carrying cases, so patients are able to stay mobile which has physical and psychological benefits. The delivery of a drug or treatment can be controlled over a period of time, for example if a large dose of a steroid has to be given to a patient is can be timed to be injected over a number of hours rather than inject the patient with large volumes of the drug in one go.”
Janice Forbes, community fundraiser at the Hospice “It was great that the Hospice was nominated and we were able to purchase a vital piece of equipment for our patients. It was lovely to meet the members of the Bee Gees to thank them personally and explain the importance of the syringe driver and how it is used.”