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The new Falcon 6 medical trolley on Brodick pier with, from left, Colin McCort, CalMac port manager, Neil Gillies, paramedic team leader, Mary Kirkwood, ArCaS treasurer, Jim Henderson, ArCaS chairman and Ruth Devlin, ArCaS shop manager. b22med01 |
Arran patients travelling to hospital on the mainland will now have a much smoother ride.
Local cancer support group ArCaS has just bought a special trolley cot for the medical room on the MV Caledonian Isles ferry.
Arran paramedic team leader Neil Gillies said: ‘This Falcon 6 trolley is the Rolls Royce of ambulance trolleys. It will ease patient comfort because there will be no lifting.
‘In the past patients had to be physically lifted into the medical room on the ferry because the trolley in there was incompatible with those on the ambulances.’
ArCaS treasurer Mary Kirkwood said: ‘The trolley cost £6,025 but it was money well spent. We are always looking for ways to use funds for the benefit of Arran patients.’
Patients going to mainland hospitals by ambulance are taken on board the ferry by local ambulance and transferred to the medical room on the car deck with a nurse escort. This new state of the art trolley will make that transfer much more comfortable.
There are about 120 such transfers on the Brodick to Ardrossan service each year, with patients mostly going to Crosshouse in Kilmarnock and some to Ayr or Glasgow.
Neil Gilles said: ‘On behalf of the NHS we would like to thank ArCaS and the people of Arran for their generosity. We also appreciate the flexibility of CalMac in coping with occasional delays caused by patient transfer.’
In appreciation for this gift, Neil is organising a fundraising walk on August 30 and is asking for donations to ArCaS. There will be three choices of walk. One will be from Lochranza to Kilmory, one from Lochranza to Cladach and one from Cladach to Kilmory. There will be further details in the Banner but any sponsors or walkers can contact Neil on 600590.
