Bequest funds cardiology equipment for children and young people

Thanks to a generous bequest, Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, has purchased equipment worth over £110,000 for cardiology services for under-16s at Withybush General Hospital.

The legacy, from a Mrs G.W.J. Thomas, has funded the purchase of echocardiography and electrocardiogram (ECG) machines for the Child Health department. The new machines will ensure that young patients from Pembrokeshire will continue to receive a vital cardiology screening service as close to home as possible.

This extra equipment is in addition to two echocardiography machines worth £200,000 purchased from the same bequest for the hospital’s Cardio-Respiratory Department which will help to reduce waiting lists for scans and enable echocardiograms for inpatients to be done sooner.

While regular cardiology screening clinics for under-16s had been taking place at the hospital, both the echocardiography and ECG machines used by the Child Health department were borrowed from the Cardio-Respiratory Department.

Thanks to the charitable funding, the Child Health department now has its own dedicated machines, bringing benefits to many young patients in the area. In every three-month period, the local consultant alone sees approximately 80 patients.

Nick Williams-Davies, Service Delivery Manager - Acute Paediatric and Neonatal Services, said: “We are delighted to have purchased the new machines with charitable funds.

“It’s important to be able to provide local and regular access to this level of cardiac examination. Investing in new, modern equipment that meets the paediatric specification is a real boost for the service.”

Dr Faumy Hassan, Consultant Paediatrician, said: “The new machine has already helped three children with serious cardiac conditions since it was received by the department in October 2022, and performed echocardiogram in over 60 children ranging from new cardiac referrals to more complex and post-surgical cardiac follow-up patients.”