Bandages shipped out to Romania

Published on Friday 31 July 2009 10:02

UNUSED bandages and dressings from Lothians hospitals are to be sent to Romania to help impoverished people there.

Following a visit to the country by two NHS Lothian health workers, the scheme was agreed to make use of unused resources in clinics and health centres.

The lack of healthcare facilities in the gypsy communities of Romania shocked the two nurses, and they have been given clearance to start the scheme.

It will give nurses the option of putting unused bandages and dressings into a specially-marked bag to be shipped out.

"In Romania, people who are treated in hospital don't get given any supplies such as bandages," said emergency nurse Marjory Thrusfield, who visited the country with nurse Ruth Aird.

"In many cases they don't go to hospital at all because they have no money to buy bandages or medicines.

"When we came home we realised there are a lot of unused supplies in the community. For example, boxes of dressings that have a patient's name on them but are no longer needed or are out of date are wasted.

"We thought Romania has nothing, could we not do something about this?"

The pair also plastered the walls of a local day centre thanks to 1,000 of donations they had received from fundraising across the Lothians.