Donation funds specialist equipment

On Tuesday 26th March, our nurses and staff welcomed four special guests from the Freemasons Mark Benevolent Fund so that they can see the difference their donation makes to the comfort of people who stay on our Inpatient Unit.

Darren Coleman-Heald, Charities Manager from the Freemasons Mark Benevolent Fund, and his fellow members, kindly donated funds to purchase two ToTo lateral turning systems.  These specialist systems work in conjunction with the existing beds and mattresses and enable nurses to program the positions of the whole bed unit to meet the comfort needs of each and every patient.    

Most people who are cared for on the Inpatient Unit have very little mobility and spend the majority of their time in bed.  This can mean that they have a higher risk of developing painful skin lacerations. Whilst our specialist nursing team do everything they can to prevent this, having the right equipment is so important. The ToTo lateral turning system is designed to keep patients moving, and by frequent re-positioning, it helps to redistribute pressure from ‘at risk’ areas and prevent pressure damage.

Darren Coleman-Heald said, “The Trustees of the Mark Benevolent Fund are delighted to have played a small part in helping those people with end of life illnesses retain their dignity at such a sensitive time. We wish Teesside Hospice and all of their dedicated staff every success in their fundraising endeavours.”

Teesside Hospice nurse, Anne Hall, demonstrated how the system works so that Darren and the other members of the Freemasons Mark Benevolent Fund could see how flexible the system is.  Depending on an individual patient’s needs, they will be able to lie flat or be tilted to the left or right for selected periods of time without intervention from a nurse or having to disturb their rest.   

David Smith, Chief Executive of Teesside Hospice commented, “I am delighted to be able to welcome Darren and his fellow members to our hospice; to meet the team and to see the fantastic ToTo lateral turning systems for themselves.  We are extremely grateful for the support from the Freemasons Mark Benevolent Fund and it’s always great for our donors to see for themselves the huge difference their funds make to the lives of people in our care. 

We want to keep all our patients as comfortable and pain free as possible, and these two turning systems are a fantastic addition to our current Patient Comfort Appeal for new and upgraded beds.”

To make a donation to Teesside Hospice’s Patient Comfort appeal or for more information call 01642 811143 or visit https://teessidehospice.org/events/patient-comfort-appeal/detail