The Griffith Base Hospital Emergency department can now officially see beneath the surface after a generous donation gifted them with a machine, that shows the veins of a patient under the skin.
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The Accuvein machine is a small device used by nurses and doctors using infrared technology to scan over a patient’s skin showing the veins running underneath.
With a visit to a hospital already ranking as a stressful experience for most, nurses and doctors say the machine will help them treat patients in a less painful way – removing the need to search for veins beneath the skin, which for some is more difficult than others.
“The tiny little babies we get, it can sometimes be difficult to find their veins,” said clinical nurse specialist Helen See.
“Not only that but for kids, the elderly or children who are on chemo as well.”
Now, thanks to the new device, nurses can simply point the Accuvein machine at a patients hand or arm, and by shining an infrared light on the skin see any number of veins present.
Ms See said the new device would mean no longer have to dig around or have multiple attempts at finding veins when treating patients.
“It is not only easier, but more humane,” she said.
“It will mean that we’re not sometimes going in blind.”
For Emergency Director Dr Emmanuel Jeyarajah, who has been a doctor for the past 25 years, the device is the kind of technology he and his peers had never dreamed of while starting out their careers– illustrating the leaps and bounds technology is helping make in caring for patients.
The money for the device was raised by the Hanwood Sports Club during a fundraiser held in October.
On Thursday Ms See and Dr Jeyarajah thanked the club on behalf of the hospital for the thoughtful gesture, saying words could barely cover the gratitude of staff.
“It is just huge for us,” Ms See said while giving a demonstration of the possibilities on the ‘just out of the box’ machine.
Speaking on behlaf of the club Roger Bertacco said once the board had heard of the hospital’s need for the device all had been happy to do whatever they could to help out.
“We had 120 people who came to the night and helped us fundraise,” he said.
“The support was absolutely fantastic.
“Some people made private donations to the end goal of the purchase and we had one family who made a really generous donation that got us over the line.”
The club raised $5000 from the night which was all donated to the hospital to go towards the purchase of the Accuvein machine.