Redundant hospital beds from Melton and Leicester will get a new lease of life in rural Africa.

The 15 beds had come to the end of their NHS life, but have been serviced and handed over to the International Medical Education Trust (2000). It in
turn is arranging them to be delivered to a new hospital at Herona in Uganda, which currently only has a single hospital bed.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust has also donated four defibrillators, three vital signs machines, three ECG machines and three suction units.

Kerry Palmer, LPT’s medical devices asset manager, said the beds had come from Melton Mowbray Hospital, and from the Evington and Bennion
Centres in Leicester.

She added: “The beds are at the end of their life, and are no longer supported by the manufacturer so we need to replace them.

“We try to make donations two or three times a year, depending on when we are replacing older stock with new.

“All the equipment has been serviced free of charge by our commercial partners, Avensys and Medstrom.

“We try wherever we can to donate to a good cause. Otherwise, we would have had to have paid a disposal fee under electrical waste regulations, and the equipment could have ended up in landfill.”

Previously donated LPT equipment has been sent to Fiji, Ghana, Pakistan and Syria.

Kathy Green, trustee for the International Medical Education Trust, said the equipment was going to a new hospital.

“The equipment that was donated by LPT will undoubtedly save lives.

“At the moment the beds at Herona hospital are home-made ones, which are really basic and not ideal for the very sick patients that come through the doors. They are very proud of their one existing hospital bed, but will be over the moon about having 15 more.

“Items such as the defibrillators, monitors and ECG’s will be vital to treating 1000-2000 patients that present at Herona each month. The health care away from the main cities in Uganda is very limited, services are hard to come by and many people die unnecessarily.

“IMET 2000 works in a number of different countries, primarily providing training for surgeons, doctors and nurses who would otherwise struggle to access good medical training.

“This is our first project in Uganda. We have been building and equipping the hospital for the past two years and we will also provide additional training to the qualified staff who work there. We are delighted with the progress the hospital has made in such a short time.”

To see more about the donation, follow this link: https://youtu.be/_XK1jb8K1Hg.
To learn more about the charity, follow this link: https://www.imet2000.org/.
To learn more about Herona Hospital, follow this link: www.herona.org.
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NOTES TO EDITORS

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) provides community health, mental health and learning disabilities services for the one million people living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. We have a budget in excess of £278 million and employ approximately 5,500 staff. For more information visit: www.leicspart.nhs.uk.

Raising Health is our registered charity (number 1057361) which raises funds to support LPT’s excellent care initiatives, equipment and innovations which go above and beyond core NHS provision, to enhance the experience of our patients, service users and staff. http://www.raisinghealth.org.uk/

For further information contact: Brendan McGrath, communications manager, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Tel: 0116 295 0801, E: brendan.mcgrath@leicspart.nhs.uk