A NEW specialist vehicle has been donated to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
The state-of-the-art Subaru Forester XC was donated by a Scottish dealership and will be used by the Paediatric Retrieval team based at the hospital to transfer doctors, nurses and equipment from the intensive care unit to seriously ill or injured children in other hospitals across the east coast of Scotland.
Once there, the team, who are specialists at providing intensive care to children on the move, will stabilise and prepare young patients for transfer via ambulance, helicopter or plane to the intensive care unit at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Dr Jon McCormack, Consultant in paediatric anaesthesia and intensive care retrieval, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, said: “This new emergency response vehicle will be a great help to our staff, allowing us to respond quickly to calls for help acrossScotland.
“We also hope to use the vehicle to raise awareness of the service and to transport our SimBaby simulator, which we use in training courses, to hospitals across the country.”
Proud
The company which donated the Edinburgh vehicle also replaced one belonging to Yorkhill Sick Kids Hospital in Glasgow after theirs was stolen earlier this year.
Michael Noble, a director of AF Noble and Son, said: “AF Noble and Son, in collaboration with our partners, the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, Colin McCrae Vision and SubaruUK, are delighted to provide the Paediatric Retrieval Team in Edinburgh with a Subaru Forester.
“We presented a similar vehicle to the team at Yorkhill Sick Kids Hospital in Glasgow recently, to replace the previous one that was stolen and destroyed.
“However, as there are two Paediatric Retrieval teams in Scotland, both doing fantastic work and both equally deserving of support, we always hoped we might be able to provide a vehicle to both the Edinburgh and Glasgow units. I’m personally very proud that we have now managed to achieve that goal.”
The Sick Kids Friends Foundation provided additional funding to brand the Subaru as an emergency vehicle including reflective decals and light bar.
Maureen Harrison, chief executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: “The retrieval team plays a vital role in ensuring seriously ill or injured children get the specialist care they need.
“We are extremely grateful to AF Noble and Son, Colin McCrae Vision and SubaruUK for providing this fantastic new vehicle which will be an invaluable resource and will help ensure children from acrossScotlandare given the best emergency care possible.”
