£20,000 donation boosts Bradford blood testing services
The University of Bradford has received a £20,000 donation from Bradford-based cash plan provider, Sovereign Health Care, to establish an urgently needed phlebotomy suite to support the people of Bradford.
There is an urgent requirement for trained phlebotomists in the NHS blood testing services where the waiting time for phlebotomy training currently exceeds 6 months. ‘Phlebotomy’ refers to the taking of blood samples for diagnostic testing in a laboratory and is essential for diagnosing illness. It is carried out by phlebotomists or clinical staff who are required to undertake formal training covering the theory and practice of how to take blood samples.
The phlebotomy suite will be an integral part of the cutting edge facilities being developed as part of the Digital Health Enterprise Zone (DHEZ) Academic, a unique resource to the University of Bradford, which will work with our community and bring together researchers, students, health and care services, businesses to develop digital solutions to health and care challenges.
Dr Samar Betmouni, Deputy Director of DHEZ Academic, said: "The Sovereign Health Care donation will benefit students and our community by offering accessible accredited phlebotomy courses. The phlebotomy suite also provides businesses with a test bed to develop digital solutions around delivery of training and devices for phlebotomy."
The donation from Sovereign Health Care will be used to set up the four-bed phlebotomy suite, and will provide the specialised equipment to pump start this activity. The money will also be used to purchase state-of-the-art, three-dimensional simulation models to assist in phlebotomy training. These will incorporate the latest technological advances in this area.
Joanne Mullarkey, a research nurse in Ethical Tissue at the University, said: "The funding for this equipment in the phlebotomy suite will enable us to deliver cutting edge courses and training to students and members of the public, providing them with hands-on vocational skills, which can be put into direct use in our community. These skills are invaluable to healthcare professionals, are translatable and can be used all over the country. With Sovereign’s help, we are privileged to be able to provide this course to our students and to the people of Bradford."
Jan Fortune, Community Programme Co-ordinator at Sovereign Health Care, said: “We are delighted to have awarded this significant donation to the University of Bradford. The funding will be of benefit not just to the students and academics at the University, but the wider community too. It’s great to see the latest digital technology being used to help solve clinical issues.”