Eastbourne rotary clubs use £20,000 grant to fund vital hospital equipment

The clubs applied for the Rotary Foundation Grant to purchase 18 syringe drivers to assist with the treatment of patients at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust facilities.

Ray Dixon, from the Rotary Club of Sovereign Harbour, and fellow Rotarian Peter Nash, from the Rotary Club of Eastbourne, approached East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust director of corporate affairs Lynette Wells and came to the conclusion the trust urgently required syringe drivers.

According to Marie Curie UK’s website, a syringe driver is a small battery-powered pump that delivers medication at a constant rate through a small plastic tube under the skin.

A rotary spokesperson said every patient requiring mechanical ventilation will need a syring driver to maintain levels of relaxation and sedation, and they will also free up considerable nursing time.

The spokesperson said the Rotary Foundation internally classified the global pandemic as a disaster, which immediately released one million US dollars in funds that Rotary Districts worldwide could apply for.

Ray, Peter and Lynette put together a bid and secured the £20,000 grant for local use from the fund.

Ray said that TRF’s classification of the pandemic as a disaster gave him special local powers, which has allowed him to bring forward £12,000 from next year’s grants fund.

This, according to Ray, will allow clubs across Rotary South East to bid for small coronavirus related matching grants, which they have been using to support local causes.

Rotary Sovereign Harbour secured one of the matching grants to donate food supplies to the Eastbourne Foodbank. This has been replicated across the Rotary District.

Ray and Peter said they are glad to have played a very small part in the fight against coronavirus, taking forward the Rotary Foundation’s simple motto of ‘doing good in the world’.

For more information, visit rotarysoutheast.org

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