Haskins delivers critical grant towards the purchase of an additional life-saving cardio-respiratory machine
Pictured above L-R:
Lorna St John – Senior Sister and ECMO Lead Nurse, PICU
Sophie Menjou – Customer Services Assistant team Leader
Jamie Haskins – on behalf of the Haskins family
Kerry Houghton – Operations Manager, Friends of PICU
Francesca Mahon – Trustee, Friends of PICU and Sister, PICU
Ellie the Elephant – Friends of PICU Mascot
Haskins Garden Centre has donated £8,500 to Friends of PICU, a registered charity that supports the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at University Hospital Southampton.
The grant was made through the Haskins Charitable Fund to help towards the purchase of an Extracorporeal Life Support Machine (ECMO) machine for Southampton’s PICU. The life-saving cardio-respiratory machine will support children in Southampton’s PICU’s who are critically ill with severe lung and/or heart failure. Lorna St John, Senior Sister and ECMO Lead Nurse on PICU explained:
“Southampton’s PICU is the regional lead centre with over 1,000 critically ill children admitted for specialist care each year from 27 hospitals across the south and the Channel Islands.
“In recent years, the need for ECMO and therefore the demand for these machines has increased significantly and the purchase of an additional ECMO machine will allow us to continue to expand our overall capacity in line with service demand and progress our specialist care services. Provision of ECMO in our PICU for those children that need it is essential and ensures that we can provide the highest level of high quality critical treatment for children across the south.”
Jamie Haskins, member of the Haskins family, added:
“We are very happy to have contributed towards the cost of this incredible ECMO machine through the Haskins Charitable Fund. We look forward to seeing it in place at the ward once the remaining funds have been collected by this wonderful charity.”
The Haskins Charitable Fund was set up in 2017 to benefit charities and community projects local to its four garden centres across the south, through personal nominations from its staff. Friends of PICU was nominated by Sophie Menjou, employee of Haskins West End.
The Trust accepts nominations for charities which benefit vulnerable children and their families, for horticultural and environmental projects, or for hospices and respite care providers.