The renal unit at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital, part of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, has marked World Kidney Day (March 12) by taking delivery of vital pieces of equipment bought thanks to recent donations.

The Glaxo Renal Unit at Heartlands has been given a portable ultrasound machine thanks to a grant from the British Kidney Patients Association (BKPA).

Sarah Powers, Renal Access Nurse Specialist in the Glaxo Renal Unit, said: “The new machine is used with kidney patients to identify problems and make an earlier diagnosis. It also means that patients don’t need to always travel to Heartlands to have use of the machine as it will go to the other satellite units at Solihull Hospital, Castle Vale, Balsall Heath and Lichfield. It makes life a bit easier for patients which has to be a positive.”

Meanwhile the unit has also been donated 18 blood pressure monitors by the Heart of England Kidney Patients Association which will be used by the Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) service on the unit.

They have been donated in the name of a former patient, Roy White from Birmingham, who died back in May 2012 aged 78. Donations at his funeral raised £460 which went to the Heart of England Kidneys Patient Association which asked the unit what equipment it needed with the money.

Roger Adkins, Clinical Nurse Specialist for CAPD, said: “Our patients are home-based and one of the ways they can monitor their condition is by checking their blood pressure. Although blood pressure monitors are more widely available nowadays not everyone can afford one or get access to one.

“This donation means that we can loan monitors to those patients who will most benefit so they will be very useful and we are extremely grateful for the generous donation.”

Roy’s widow Hazel was on hand to donate the monitors and said: “It is wonderful to see the money used for something so useful that the patients can get great benefit from and I’m happy that we can do it in Roy’s name.”

World Kidney Day is an annual global awareness and education event and takes place this year on Thursday March 12. For further information visit www.worldkidneyday.co.uk

If you are interested in raising money for your local Hospital, or a particular department, contact the Fundraising Team on 0121 424 3838 or email: fundraising@heartofengland.nhs.uk