Bayside Leader: A gift from the heart for Sandringham

Sandringham District and Memorial Hospital will soon have two new cardiac monitors.

The technology is the result of the generosity of Bayside cyclists, Cheltenham’s Omara Cycles and a donation from the Bayside Companion Dog Training School.

Riders who took part in a 24-hour bicycle ride on Beach Rd in June raised more than $26,000.

And after hearing about the hospital’s need for the monitors, the dog training school raised an additional $11,000.

Sandringham hospital director of emergency services Dr James Taylor said the money meant the hospital could buy two cardiac monitors as well as the software and cabling to link them to a central monitor.

The ride began on June 14 and involved riders from the Bayside community, the hospital’s staff and Omara Cycles in Cheltenham.

Omara Cycles also sponsored the ride and provided uniforms and nutritional products.

Dr Taylor said the hospital would now set up a new service for cardiac monitoring of low-risk patients in the hospital’s short-stay observation unit.

He said the service would help to relieve pressure on the emergency department. Selected patients who have undergone tests in the department but still required monitoring would be able to stay at the short-stay unit in a more comfortable environment.

The hi-tech monitors will also allow cardiac specialists at the Alfred hospital to monitor patients located at Sandringham.