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Breathing Sensors donated to NICU Print
Written by Communications Lead   
Friday, 16 January 2009 09:03


The family of an Ashford lady who was an active supporter with the charity Save Children in Pain (SCIP) have made a donation in her memory that has enabled two highly sensitive breathing monitors to be bought for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust.

 
Doreen Beaver was a loyal supporter of SCIP’s quiz nights, car boot sales, jumble sales, race nights, variety shows, Christmas Bazaars, and other fundraising activities for more than 14 years before she died in December 2007, aged 77.  Following her funeral £1,000 was donated in her memory in lieu of flowers and SCIP have added to this enabling £1,600 to be spent on two apnoea alarms for the NICU at St. Peter’s Hospital.
 
Said SCIP Chairman, Sandy Street: “Doreen was one of our long term supporters and was always ready to help fundraise and support our events.  We think she would be very pleased to know that she has continued to make a big contribution to the work of SCIP – I think it would have made her smile.” 
 
The alarms are sensitive to a baby’s breathing.  A sensitive pad, the size of a thumb nail, is placed on the infant’s stomach and this is connected to a machine that can either click each time a breath is taken or will sound a loud and urgent alarm if the breathing stops.
 
Said Matron for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Audrey Elmore: “These machines are very sensitive and very useful.  We can loan them out to parents taking their babies home from NICU, which they find very reassuring.  We do appreciate this donation from SCIP and the family and we do think it is very nice to have this long term relationship with the charity, which has already been extremely generous over the years, and in 2007 alone donated more than £5,000 for equipment in NICU.” 
        
Mrs Beaver’s daughter, Julie Biddulph of Wraysbury said: “Mum always enjoyed her time with SCIP and made many good friends.  Our Dad also enjoyed attending the fund raising events and always went with Mum to these.  We see the donation as celebrating Mum’s contribution to SCIP – she was proud of it all and  felt it was such a good cause.”
 
Julie’s older sister Terry Hearn of Ashford and younger sister Shirley Benjafield of Poole, Dorset, were with her at the presentation as well as their Dad, Arthur Beaver. 
 
Representing SCIP were Sandy Street and her husband, Les together with Mrs Isabel Leer. Mrs Leer is a lady known well to Neonatal Intensive Care staff as she knits blankets for the premature babies.


 
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 January 2009 09:07 )
 

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