Help for Hospital
Throughout the past year students at Farlington have been raising money for Southampton General Hospital Neurological Unit. The fundraising efforts were to thank the Hospital for all their help and support to a former Sixth Form student, Chloe Briffa, following a riding accident. Chloe is now on a gap year but she visited Southampton to present Miranda Gardner, Head Injury Nurse Specialist, with a cheque for £2,300.66. The money will go towards the Unit’s purchase of a Portable Bipap machine and a BIS machine.
The Bipap machine enables patients with head injury (and other conditions) who require extra assistance with breathing, to be cared for on the ward. It means they can be easily transferred between units and can even get to the physio gym. It provides a step between being fully ventilated (i.e. with a tube down the throat into the lungs) and managing with just an oxygen mask.
The BIS machine acts as a sedation monitor. It can inform the staff how deeply someone is sedated and they can adjust the medication doses accordingly. Some people need a lot more sedation than others to achieve the same effect, so it means the Unit can regulate this and not over-medicate the patients who don't need it. It helps them determine whether someone's conscious level is affected purely by the head injury or if it is suppressed by the medication.
 
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