Raising Money for New Cardiac Facility
A husband and wife from Northern Ireland have helped raise a total of £10,000 which will go towards a facility benefitting patients receiving cardiac care in the Province.
Image by lyng883 via Flickr
A husband and wife from Northern Ireland recently helped raise a total of £10,000 which will go towards a facility benefitting patients receiving cardiac care in the Province. Geoff and Serena Hamilton from County Tyrone handed over the money last year to representatives from the newly built Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at Craigavon Area Hospital which is in County Armagh.
The Cath Lab, a £2.6m facility which includes a theatre, dedicated day procedure ward and research facility, has been financially supported by the Craigavon Cardiac Care Association (CCCA). It will provide a range of diagnostic and treatment services for patients with heart problems.
The £10,000 raised was the culmination of several years of fundraising activities including a signed sports shirt auction and other events which were crowd-pullers. As the new facility is situated in Country Armagh, it means that patients receiving cardiac care will not have to travel some fifty or sixty miles to the capital city of Belfast.
Diagnostic cardiac catheterisation (angiography) and percutaneous intervention (stent insertion/balloon procedure) for coronary heart disease were previously carried out at Craigavon Area Hospital in a modular laboratory. However, these procedures will now move to the purpose built unit, accommodating more patients and extending the range of procedures available.
It is planned to phase in services over the coming months with a view to implanting and reviewing pacemakers and defibrillators, life-saving devices that can treat dangerously slow or fast heart rhythms.
Serena who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and has since had a pacemaker fitted, decided to get involved in fundraising for cardiac care to help others in a similar situation.
Her husband Geoff said: “We want to thank everyone who has supported us and made contributions to help us raise the money.”
He added that he encouraged people to continue to support this worthy cause and to help people in situations like his wife.
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