The Lifesaving Sports Association has raised £8265.00 in order to purchase a handheld Abbott i-Stat blood analyser, downloader and printer, which was donated yesterday to the Rainbow Ward at St Bernard’s.

The Association organised several events to promote lifeguarding in order to compete internationally and to raise funds for the equipment. Some of these events included a Fun Day held at the GASA pavilion, an Aqua-aerobics marathon and a Waterpolo marathon.

The Abbott i-Stat is a hand held blood analyser and is widely used in paediatric high dependency units and neonatal units worldwide. It has the added advantage that it is portable and can be used in inter-hospital transfers of critically ill children. The i-stat is beneficial to paediatrics and will help to improve clinical efficiency. It is simple to use and enhances patient centred care without compromising staff numbers especially during an emergency. The i-stat system requires just two to three drops of blood to deliver lab-quality results.

Using the i-Stat system can significantly reduce blood requirements by:

• eliminating re-sticks due to delays with multi-use analysers,
• minimising the risk of sample clotting before or during testing,
• consolidating analytes on one cartridge.

Overall this analyser will allow early diagnosis of a potentially life threatening condition in an emergency allowing early treatment which in turn could improve the clinical outcome for the patient.

Minister Costa said, "On behalf of all the staff at the GHA, I would like to give my sincerest thank you to the Lifesaving Sports Association for this generous donation. This new piece of equipment is an asset for the Rainbow Ward and could potentially save lives."