League of Friends donation will help South Tyneside heart patients

A donation of nearly £11,000 will help to save the lives of heart patients in South Tyneside.
Cardiology lead Jakki Colwill and League of Friends chairman Maureen Young, back, with League treasurer Sue Goddard and secretary Dorothy RogersCardiology lead Jakki Colwill and League of Friends chairman Maureen Young, back, with League treasurer Sue Goddard and secretary Dorothy Rogers
Cardiology lead Jakki Colwill and League of Friends chairman Maureen Young, back, with League treasurer Sue Goddard and secretary Dorothy Rogers

The money - from The League of Friends of South Tyneside Hospitals - was used to buy vital equipment for the cardiology department at South Tyneside District Hospital in the shape of three temporary pacing boxes and seven blood pressure monitors.

A temporary pacing box is usually inserted because a person’s heart rhythm has become unstable and blood pressure readings are an important indicator of the risk of having heart disease or a stroke.

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The new blood pressure monitors are used to establish an accurate reading over 24 hours and to check that medications to control patients’ blood pressure are working. Patients are fitted with a blood pressure cuff wrapped around the arm, which is connected to a small device on a belt or strap to record the readings, and they carry on with their normal activities whilst wearing it.

The cardiology team dealth with 50,000 patients in 2017.

Cardiology service lead Jakki Colwill said: “We are absolutely delighted to have this new, extremely important equipment and we can’t thank the League of Friends enough for their kind donation.”

The League of Friends shares its anniversary with the NHS, with both celebrating 70 years this year.

In the last decade alone, members have raised more than £300,000, with most of the money coming from the League shop in the main entrance of South Tyneside District Hospital’s Ingham Wing.

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South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust Chairman Neil Mundy said: “The League of Friends volunteers never cease to amaze me.

“Their dedication and generosity know no bounds and this donation is the latest in a long list which has led, over the years, to improvements in care for generations of South Tyneside patients.”