Hospital benefits from generous donation
BATTLE Rotary Club veteran Ken Clarke was so impressed with the service he received as a patient at the Renal Dialysis Unit at Bexhill Hospital that he resolved to take action. When Ken offered to give £500 to the unit the club offered to match his donation. Ken’s gratitude for the kindness and care he had received at the unit came at a time when unit matron Jenny Widgery needed two new patient treatment chairs. The chairs are specialised and expensive pieces of equipment. Patients undergoing dialysis to clean their blood have to sit still for four hours at a time, three times a week. Not only do the chairs have to offer great comfort and have a wide range of adjustment, their covering has to meet hospital infection-control standards. The £2,300 cost of each chair reflects this.
Ken Clarke was hoping to be present on Monday morning to see two new chairs bought with the aid of the League in use. Sadly, ill health prevented this. But club President Peter Mills was accompanied by Past Presidents Marian Rigby and Michael Bett when he presented a cheque for £1,000 to League Chairman Cllr Stuart Earl. Senior Staff Nurse Lesley Guthrie called in her unit colleagues for the photo-call, healthcare assistant Rose Buckler posing in one of the chairs, Peter Mills said Ken Clarke had benefitted greatly from the service given at the renal dialysis unit and the club was delighted to support his gesture.