Local club raises £500 to benefit Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Every year, the Matching Green Classic and Sports Car Club donates profits from its annual car show to a charitable cause. This year, they selected the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), inspired by one of their members who works at the hospital.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team have all had training around supporting the best environment for babies, to improve their long term neurological development and outcomes. In a neonatal setting, loud noises can have a negative impact on pre-term babies, increasing stress and therefore blood pressure and heart rate. Loud noise can also result in decreasing oxygen saturations and increased oxygen consumption.
As a result, the team used the funds to purchase equipment known as a 'SoundEar' to visually highlight when noise levels begin to increase on the unit so that everyone is aware and can immediately take action to decrease the volume of noise.
Janelle Gardner, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) ward manager (pictured, with the SoundEar equipment), said: "We are very thankful to the Matching Green Classic and Sports Car Club for their kind donation.
"The equipment we have purchased will help us to continue to best support the babies we care for."
Notes to editors:
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust was established in April 1995 and provides services at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop's Stortford, and St Margaret's Hospital in Epping. We have an annual income of around £236,700 million. We have 414 general and acute beds at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and provide a full range of general acute services, including a 24/7 emergency department, an intensive care unit, a maternity unit and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We also provide outpatient and diagnostic services from the Herts and Essex Hospital, Bishop's Stortford, and St Margaret's Hospital in Epping.
We employ around 3,500 staff and serve a local population of about 350,000 people living in West Essex and East Hertfordshire, centred on the M11 corridor and the towns of Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Epping. Our extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the areas of Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.
In October 2019, the Government announced that we are to receive funding to rebuild a new hospital in Harlow for our patients, community and people. The details around the funding and the timeframe are currently being finalised and we are completing our business case for the new hospital.