THE Friends of Eastbourne Hospital raise money each year in order to be able to buy additional items and equipment for the wards, staff and patients of the DGH that East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is not able to provide, for reasons of either budget or necessity.
Whilst the Friends are always aiming towards a Major Project each year, bids for many other items are received on an ad hoc basis for the Friends to consider.
Here are just some of the items that we have been delighted to provide Eastbourne DGH with over the last year.
For the Resuscitation Department of the DGH, we were able to provide a new and almost alarmingly lifelike mannikin. Steve Rochester, Senior Resuscitation Officer, had asked the Friends for this donation, explaining that medical training relies on having the latest, and most realistic dummies in the department.
The Resus Dept, he said, believes that the best medical training starts with realistic simulation, which has many levels of fidelity, but the best is to be able to practise resuscitation skills on a lifelike patient. The optimal way to improve clinical confidence is through repetitive practice in lifelike situations. Mannikins that can be as close to a genuine human patient as possible encourages ‘buy in’ from those undertaking the scenarios.
This buy in ultimately makes the training more realistic and allows the students an opportunity to practise skills and procedures ‘in the moment’. Our belief, Steve said, is ‘to train the way you would treat the patient’.
Friends fundraising also recently paid for a LUTS machine in the Urology department. There are many advantages to the patient of this machine, which is portable and helps to provide a ‘one stop’ service. By using this new machine the number of appointments needed are much reduced as once a scan has been done the problem is identified and a treatment plan put in place. Previously an ultrasound scan would have been needed which would have required a further appointment and delay in diagnosis. As there are nine different treatment options depending on the exact circumstances, the sooner these can be started the more beneficial it is for the patient.
We were also delighted to be able to donate to the Elderly Care Wards, who had asked for what are essentially two giant digital tables. We visited the ward to see the equipment in use, and were given demonstration after demonstration of their uses: swirling patterns, playing air hockey, listening to music, doing puzzles, and many more features besides.
These tables have been so gratefully received by the department in the care of elderly patients, including those suffering with dementia. Puzzles to keep the brain active, visual stimuli to keep the patient engaged, music to soothe and relax – the uses of these tables were endless, and we were thrilled to see such an appreciative and committed department at the forefront of this critical care.
On a similarly televisual theme, we were also approached by the team in the Intermediate Care Ward for the purchase of a giant TV screen in order to aid with short term rehabilitation and reablement. On receipt, this screen was being put to regular use in order to share exercise videos for patients on the ward, enabling the team there to give instruction to as many as 10-15 patients in one group. The possibilities we were told though, are numerous, and the ward is now looking into interactive options for the screen, to offer similar uses to the digital tables mentioned above.
We have a summer of Open Gardens ahead and would love to see as many of you as possible at any of these events, enjoying glorious gardens in the local area, stopping for a drink and slice of cake, or browsing the stalls which will also be a feature of the day. Admission is free, but any donation you make or refreshment you purchase will contribute to our ongoing fundraising, and we thank you for it. Please do see the details of the Open Gardens and all other fundraising events here: www.friendsdgh.org.uk/events. Every donation you make really does make a difference.
More can be read on this year’s project at friendsdgh.org.uk/fundraising/2026-special-project.
