Shine a little light this Christmas for the children at Evelina London

With your support, Evelina London can buy more equipment like Wee Sights and ultrasound scanners that help make children’s time in hospital as comfortable as possible for them and their families.

Wee Sight, courtesy of Royal Philips

Every year, Mountain ward sees over 22,000 children of all ages, from tiny babies to teenagers. It’s home to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) and cares for children with a range of illnesses such as asthma, pneumonia and meningitis. Many of the children need intravenous access for fluid and medication along with regular blood tests.

But taking blood and inserting cannulas for drips in tiny babies is no easy task, especially when babies’ and children have such tiny veins that are difficult to see from sight alone. And despite staff’s best efforts, it can cause a lot of distress to young children and their families.

With your help, Evelina London can buy more equipment that make essential procedures like this easier and a lot less scary for the children under its care.

Donate today

Children’s veins are much smaller than adults’, sometimes inserting tubes or taking blood causes blown vessels, where the needle passes through to the other side causing bruising. If no veins are visible, doctors may have no choice but to make several attempts to try and find a vein.

A simple piece of equipment called a Wee Sight can make all the difference. A Wee Sight is a bright LED light that can be shone through a child’s hand or wrist to illuminate ‘invisible veins’ for the insertion of a cannula. They are painless, harmless and cause no distress. In fact, a lot of children enjoy seeing their glowing fingers!

An ultrasound scanner is another piece of equipment that makes it easier to spot small and hidden veins. These powerful machines allow staff to staff accurately visualise even deep blood vessels. They can be a lifesaver when there are literally no veins to see.

“At first, the doctors and nurses found it hard to find a vein on Matilda. On one occasion, they tried to put in a cannula 14 times before finding a vein. This was stressful for both Matilda and for me as her mum. Thankfully, the next time, they used an ultrasound scanner, which was so much faster and smoother and a huge relief for us all.”

Megan, Matilda’s mum

Donate today to help shine a light for sick children

A gift of £60 today could help buy one Wee Sight, which will put our children at ease by:

Illuminating blood vessels so staff can accurately locate ‘invisible veins’ in babies’ and children’s small limbs
Increasing the first-time success of inserting tubes and reducing the risk of damaging blood vessels beyond use

A gift of £100 could go towards buying an ultrasound scanner, which will transform care by:

Identifying deeper vessels not visible on the surface using a harmless and rapid bedside scan
Providing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) gold standard care for children with ultrasound-guided line placement for inserting long-term use catheters
Speeding up waiting times and reducing the need for several unsuccessful attempts to find a vein

Donate today