We have funded the purchase of ten paediatric stethoscopes for the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital Critical Care Unit.
Stethoscopes are a frequently used piece of equipment on the Critical Care Unit as they frequently take care of children with respiratory conditions. However, these particular versions are much more specialised than the adult equivalent.
Firstly, they have a uniquely designed chest piece which is perfect for the patients’ smaller anatomy. They have a non-chill rim which helps not to startle patients if they are sleeping when doctors need to check their breathing and uniquely shaped earbuds which mean doctors can hear chest, heart and bowel sounds more accurately.
How the stethoscopes will help
The stethoscopes will be kept by individual bedsides in the Critical Care Unit at the children’s hospital, engraved with the units’ details, so they are always there when doctors need them.
This also reduces the chance of cross-infection, something that Dr Oli Rahman feels is really important due to the coronavirus crisis; “It is much better if each room has its own bit of kit to minimise transfer of infection. With the COVID-19 infection it’s become clear that this sharing of equipment is not ideal and may contribute to the spreading of infection from one patient to another.
“In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is now mandatory that we keep stethoscopes of a decent quality in each bed space on HDU.”
Now that these specific stethoscopes have been delivered, they will provide our nurses, doctors and physiotherapists with the tools they need to accurately assess, diagnose and treat all our paediatric patients.
At Rockinghorse, we pride ourselves on showing our supporters exactly where their money goes, and this is another great example of the direct help that their fundraising has provided, especially during the COVID-19 crisis of the last few months, for the staff and patients at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.
