Lion Foundation donation will help save lives

Northland DHB staff now have access to the latest, high-tech training equipment, thanks to a generous donation from the Lion Foundation.

The Lion Foundation has donated a $50,000 grant to the Northland Community Foundation, which has been used to purchase three life-sized mannequins which simulate the reactions of real patients. The simulators – two “adults” and one “child” – will be used by staff at Northland DHB to instruct on a wide range of life-saving procedures.

Karen Roach, Northland DHB CEO, formally accepted the donation at a presentation held at Whangarei Hospital this week. The mannequins were officially handed over by Don Judkins, the Lion Foundation’s General Manager, Grants.

The simulators, complete with computer software, provide realistic, interactive training, and respond to clinical intervention. They follow pre-programmed scenarios allowing for effective practice of diagnosis and treatment. The mannequins are able to breathe spontaneously, speak, cough and give other responses which simulate a real-life situation.

The purchase of the simulators will allow health professionals to practice and maintain emergency life-saving skills. They can be used by a range of health workers, with the difficulty of the scenarios tailored to the student. For example, they can be used to practice basic trauma and cardiac life support for pre-hospital staff, with more complex scenarios tested on skilled emergency and intensive care staff.  

Karen Roach said: “Northland DHB and the Northland Community Foundation are very grateful to the Lion Foundation for their generous donation. This will enhance health care for Northlanders through effective, efficient staff training. The Northland Community Foundation, in its role as the DHB’s charitable trust and fundraiser, has helped bring this funding to Northland for the benefit of all residents.”

Dr Roger Tuck, Northland DHB Clinical Director of Maternal and Child Health Services, said that the mannequins were an important teaching aid as they enabled staff to simulate emergency situations in as lifelike a manner as possible. He said: “They will enable us to teach people to cope with a range of emergency procedures in a systematic way.” 

The grant from the Lion Foundation is the first step towards the creation of a comprehensive suite of advanced resuscitation equipment for Northland DHB clinicians.

The Lion Foundation is a charitable trust that exists for the purpose of raising funds for the community, and was established by brewer Lion Nathan in 1985. The Foundation owns 2,261 gaming machines in 151 hotels, taverns and licensed entertainment venues throughout New Zealand, with all profits returned to the community.  

In the last 12 months Lion Foundation returned $895, 834 to the Northland region. The largest grant was to the Northland Emergency Services Trust for the support of the Lion Foundation Air Ambulance, and the Foundation recently gave $50,000 to the Mayoral relief fund in Whangarei, for the relief of victims of the March flooding.

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For further information, please contact:

Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager

Northland District Health Board 

Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315