With your help we have funded many projects, large and small.  Here are examples of some of them.

Care packs for patients: It’s bad enough finding yourself in hospital without having something to freshen up with.

We funded £800 for care packs for patients who unexpectedly find themselves in hospital.  The packs, sourced and packed by Rachel Martin, Trustee, include a roll-on deodorant, flannel, toothbrush and toothpaste, shower gel, comb/brush and lip balm.

The bags shown were kindly handmade in Finland by Ulla Gething the mother of Trustee Malou Lindholm.  A huge thank you goes to Ulla.

Safer Prostate Biopsy System: Your generosity has allowed us to give £45K to buy a Specto Ultrasound System.

The Urology Cancer Service receives 2300+ referrals a year with over 650 patients needing a prostate biopsy.  More than 550 patients will be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.

Prostate biopsies were previously performed under general anaesthetic. The new equipment means a Trans-perineal biopsy can be performed under local anaesthetic which removes risks associated with general anaesthesia and increases the number of biopsies which can be carried out.

This has to be a better experience for patients at this worrying time.

Neurophysiology: Thanks to you we have given £135 for toys to distract young children whilst having EEGs.  An EEG involves sticking 25 small electrodes to the scalp and recording the brain wave in different situations.

Some children go home with a recorder attached for 24 hours.  Around 300 children have the procedure each year with a good proportion being aged between 1-4.

The range of toys help to distract the children, keeping them still and content whilst having the tests.

Music Therapy:

£22K of your contributions has part funded a music therapist for 12 hours per week over two years.  Aby Vulliamy now works with children who have life limiting or life threatening illnesses.  Jessie’s Fund, a Charity set up to prvide music therapy is contributing the remaining 50%.

ENT Microscope: £9K paid for an ENT Outpatient microscope. The new microscope is particularly useful for children requiring grommet surgery and patients requiring examination under anaesthetic to assess if more serious operations are needed.

Other initiatives which you have funded include:

• Butterfly Appeal – Maternity Bereavement Suite

£25K to help to create a new maternity bereavement suite at York Hospital.  The unit offers space and privacy to give families somewhere to feel safe and cared for at an incredibly difficult time.

• Vinyl transfers for children’s EEG assessment room

• iPads to support therapy for stroke patients

• 315 Non-contact thermometers for Trust wide use

• Specialist chairs for elderly patients with dementia

• Specialist disabled toilet for the main entrance

• Contribution to the renovation of the Emergency Department

• Sleep packs for patients which include eye masks and ear plugs to reduce noise