General News
28 September, 2023
Paramedics secure new gear thanks to donations
Maryborough’s ambulances have been kitted out with new equipment to help clear patient’s airways thanks to a donation from the Maryborough Ambulance Auxiliary. Valued at around $800, the auxiliary donated three Laerdal Compact Suction Units...
Maryborough’s ambulances have been kitted out with new equipment to help clear patient’s airways thanks to a donation from the Maryborough Ambulance Auxiliary.
Valued at around $800, the auxiliary donated three Laerdal Compact Suction Units which help clear airways safely and effectively to Maryborough’s Ambulance Station recently in what’s expected to support better outcomes for local patients.
The devices were purchased thanks to donations from the community, like the $2080 cheque presented by the Maryborough Highland Society last week.
Auxiliary president Sandra Field said the group had spoken to local paramedics about what equipment they needed and new suction devices were high on the list.
“At our meetings we always ask the team leader if they have any specific needs for equipment and at the time, the new suction units were a priority,” she said.
“We’re able to make donations like this because of the support we see from the community.
“We’re very grateful for the support we get from organisations like Rotary and Lions — we’re all working together to provide better health outcomes for our community.”
The three units mean each ambulance stationed in Maryborough now carries a suction device, which Maryborough Ambulance Station acting team manager Bess Jones said are used in life-threatening situations.
“They’re used with some of our most critical patients where they require airway intervention,” she said.
“If someone has got secretions in their airway and that’s interfering with their breathing, that’s where we would use these devices to help clear that persons airway.
“These new devices are battery powered, they sit on charge in the ambulance and we unplug them when we need them — they’re fully powered and ready to go.
“They don’t require an oxygen source like our old ones did which is the biggest benefit I think and they’re also much lighter and easier to move around.”
Ms Jones said given the new suction units save paramedics time, they could lead to better health outcomes for patients in the community.
“Because these devices don’t need to share an oxygen source with our breathing devices, that oxygen is now going to last longer which means we’re going to spend less time changing it over when it does run out,” she said.
“That will save us time and could lead to better outcomes for patients.
“To receive these from the auxiliary is incredible, knowing they’re always there to help us with anything we need from training material to actual equipment for use in the community means so much — it means we can provide better patient care.”