Team taking part in mammoth fundraiser for vital veinfinder machine
A team at Royal Derby Hospital are on a fund-raising mission to buy a special piece of equipment that will "make a massive difference" to their patients.
Colleagues on the Combined Triage Assessment Unit (CTAU) will be joining forces to jump out of a plane for a skydive and jog their way to the finish line in a 10km run later this year.
They hope to rack up £3,000 to buy a special 'Veinfinder' machine which projects a map of the patient's veins onto the surface of the skin.
Kayleigh Watts, Sister on CTAU, said that the team treats patients with cancer and haematology conditions, means there can sometimes be difficulty accessing their veins to administer treatment, such as chemotherapy, and carry out important blood tests. She believes the 'Veinfinder' would help transform the experience of patients on the unit as it will take fewer attempts to find viable veins.
She said: "Obviously it is not nice for our patients when we struggle to access their veins and have to keep trying but the accuracy of this machine means we will have access first time which will make a massive difference.
"The machine has proven to be really useful in other areas of the hospital so we know that if we had one we would use it daily on multiple patients so it will be so worth it."
Originally the team had planned to do the skydive only, but some colleagues took up running in the New Year and decided to embark on the second challenge of the 10k run in March in a bid to raise as much money as possible for the cause.
Kayleigh praised her team for their commitment and hard work: "I've got an amazing team. It is small but they always go above and beyond and pull together for the good of the patients and this is a prime example of that."