‘Inspiring’: Hospital staff send Covid supplies to aid colleagues overseas
A patient in Sri Lanka benefiting from some of the equipment sent from Hull
A critical care consultant in Hull says she has been “overwhelmed” by the support she received to send vital equipment to colleagues on the coronavirus frontline in her home country of Sri Lanka.
Having seen patients come in and out of Hull’s ICU with the virus for the past 18 months, Dr Pumali Gunasekera knows just how debilitating Covid can be and how important it is for patients to receive timely medical care.
And like many, Dr Gunasekera was moved by images of countries like Sri Lanka and India struggling to cope with the sheer numbers of Covid infections.
Many colleagues at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have also felt the anguish of having loved ones and family abroad and not being there to help.
So Dr Gunasekera set about gathering equipment and supplies which could be used to aid the international Covid response.
She appealed to colleagues throughout the trust for unused or obsolete equipment and supplies that could be sent abroad; and the response she received was amazing.
‘UPLIFTING’: Medics in Sri Lanka receiving the supplies
“I was overwhelmed with the response,” said Dr Gunasekera. “I received donations from all over; emergency care, theatres, ICU outreach, clinical practice educators and more, all with equipment which could no longer be used here, but which was still suitable for use abroad.
“Respiratory physicians Dr Pinder and Dr Crooks and senior matron Vicky Sharman helped me to source CPAP machines that were surplus to requirements, and these were very kindly released by [trust] chief executive, Chris Long.
“Many of the departmental housekeepers also helped by sorting through their stores and finding suitable supplies to send over.”
Among the items sent to hospitals in Sri Lanka were more than 35 CPAP machines, a variety of airway and breathing equipment, including oxygen masks, NIV masks, and laryngoscopes, plus PPE to protect clinical staff, including surgical face masks, FFP3 masks and gowns.
The recipients could not have been more grateful.
Chief nursing officer for National Hospital Kandy in Sri Lanka, Mr Jayamanne, wrote to Vicky Sharman upon receipt of a donation to say thank you.
He wrote: “As a fellow nurse facing similar pressures of patient care and flow in a pandemic, I find it inspiring that you were able to think of the welfare of patients on the other side of the world during this crisis.
‘THANK YOU’: Hospital staff in Sri Lanka with some of the equipment sent by colleagues in Hull
“A true embodiment of the ‘missioner of health’ pledge that we take.”
Members of the College of Anaesthesiologists and Intensivists of Sri Lanka also wrote to Chris Long with their thanks, having distributed CPAP machines among 15 of the hospitals they support.
“With the emergence of the third wave of the pandemic, patients requiring intensive care services in Sri Lanka have risen within a very short period of time,” they wrote.
“As a result, the healthcare system is saturated and overburdened due to a surge of admissions of critically ill, both Covid and non-Covid patients, to the intensive care units amidst limited resources.
“We greatly appreciate your donation and thank you for your generosity towards uplifting standards of critical care facilities [in our ICUs] in the country.”
Dr Gunasekera said: “This equipment could no longer be used by our trust, so it’s fantastic to know that it’s been put to good use in hospitals where it’s really needed.
“The compassion for others and the goodwill shown by colleagues here has been really uplifting, and just shows that even in the tough times, in the middle of a global pandemic, we are all in it together.
“On behalf of the ICU team and all the receiving hospitals over in Sri Lanka, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped with the appeal.”