A team of specialist nurses from the respiratory unit at Scarborough Hospital has found a unique way to celebrate the arrival of their new life-saving equipment – by giving them all names!

The brand new respiratory machines are mainly used for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are in hospital with respiratory failure.

Staff joined in the fun with a space age theme, naming the new machines after fictional robots - R2-D2, Marvin, WALL-E, Optimus Prime and KITT.

Hazel Kavanagh, Lead Specialist Respiratory Nurse, said: “The new machines are replacing equipment that we’ve had for 12 years so naturally we were delighted when they arrived. These non-invasive ventilation machines have revolutionised the care of patients with respiratory failure due to COPD, so while we took a light-hearted approach, this is a very serious condition which our team help people manage on a daily basis. We are very proud of our service.”

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) machines feed air into a close fitting face mask to increase the pressure of the air that a patient breathes. It’s given while people are fully awake and they usually only need this treatment for a few days. NIV supports the breathing and allows patients to take more air in with every breath. It improves oxygen delivery and importantly, helps the patient to breathe out carbon dioxide.

Hazel, who has worked for the acute non-invasive NIV service since it was set up in Scarborough in 2003, added: “We see patients with COPD suffering from a flare up of their condition with high carbon dioxide levels in the blood, and these machines can be life-saving. NIV can be given on select wards in Scarborough Hospital and as respiratory specialists, part of our role is also to train nurses in how to use the equipment and support them.”

26 March 2019