UK Initiatives – Past

February 2023: Hearing Testing

The East Sussex Hearing Centre Charity urgently required a new Otoscope to replace their aging otoscope so that they could continue to provide high quality hearing screening tests

Image: Otoscope Head

November  2022:

On learning that the Friends of Eastbourne Hospital were £25,000 short of their target towards a new medical robotic instrument, Medi Tech Trust donated the shortfall.

Image: MTT Founder/Co-Chair Bob Lewis, Chair of the FoEH Harry Walmsley, and MTT Founder /Co-Chair Graham Watson with THE cheque

Y/E June 2022:

In addition to funds spent in the UK during the year, our charity spent £49,823 on donated equipment and virtual training workshops for the benefit of communities in low and middle income countries.

Benin           £15,100
Rwanda        £  2,184
Senegal         £  2,185
Somaliland   £30,354

April 2022: Senegal & Mauritania

Following a three day session in Senegal, Graham Watson made his inaugural visit to Mauritania, where he  carried out an intensive training programme which was received with much acclamation.  He was accompanied by Senegalese Urologist Lamine Niang. A follow-up visit has been scheduled for 2023

January 2022: Malawi

MTT’s Overseas Training Programme was able to recommence.  Co-Chair Graham Watson made Malawi his first visit. Accompanied by Dr. Lisa-Ann Kaestner of South Africa, an intensive week’s training was carried out at the Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe with many operations being successfully performed.

Image: Graham Watson performing an operation

August 2021: Medigive©

This new website was launched to benefit UK hospitals as well as those overseas. Known as “Shopping with a difference” medical professionals can select from thousands of different items, submit an online request then receive them without making a payment.

Image: Website Logo – known as the symbolic indicator of ‘Shopping with a difference’.

August 2021:

Medi Tech Trust technically donated medical equipment worth £33,678 from its stock to expand the variety of equipment available to recipient hospitals through Medigive.

Image: Arietta Prologue Portable Ultrasound machine; Olympus TURis unit

July 2021: Choose What You Need

170 medical equipment items worth £90,000 were donated to 28 Brighton & Hove surgeries based from Saltdean to Southwick,  potentially aiding over 250,000 patients. The Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Sir Peter J. Field, KCVO, KStJ, JP 23 kindly presented these items at a Hove Presentation evening.

3 Community Initiatives have resulted in 350 medical equipment items worth circa £¼ m being donated to surgeries to benefit their 500,000 patients.

Image: A small selection of donated items chosen by various surgeries

July 2021: Recycled Instruments

Consultant Urologist Mrs Jean McDonald of North Middlesex hospital presenting another batch of recyclable disposed-of instruments that our charity can send to low income countries after they have been re-sterilised.

Image: Mrs Jean McDonald handing the collected instruments to Mr Bob Lewis, Founder/Co-Chair of Medi Tech Trust

Y/E June 2021:

Our charity also spent £36,525 on donated equipment and virtual training workshops for the benefit of communities in nine overseas countries.

Benin £25,083
Ethiopia £218
India £1,388
Malawi £5,434
Mauritania £2,150
Senegal £1,119
South Africa £608
Sri Lanka £290
Zimbabwe £235

June 2021: Somaliland

The prevalence of Hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV) are extremely high in this region, which places a significant health burden for the country as a whole. This state of the art equipment was donated to initiate a programme that offered screening and treatment.

Image: This Cepheid Gene-expert IV machine and accessories, cost £30,354, sets a new standard in workflow flexibility with 24/7 testing accuracy.

June 2021: Sussex Rotarians

Several local Rotarians kindly volunteered to help our charity with the initial sorting of thousands of surgical items destined for low-income countries. As a token of appreciation, MTT donated 100 pulse oximeters to aid them in the fight against Covid in India.

Image: David Cross, representing Sussex Rotarians, receiving the oximeters from Bob Lewis, Founder/Co-Chair of Medi Tech Trust

May 2021: Recycled Instruments

MTT are pleased to welcome Consultant Urologist Mr Anthony Blacker and University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust to the growing team of NHS Trusts who securely collect recyclable disposed-of instruments that our charity can send to low income countries after they have been re-sterilised.

Image: Main entrance to the UHCW hospital

April 2021: Scanner

By donating this scanner for use by the Crisis Response Team based at The Conquest Hospital, hundreds of patients can now be tested and treated at home instead of being admitted to hospital.

Image: Bob Lewis, Founder/Co-Chair of Medi Tech Trust, presenting the Crisis Response Team with this invaluable portable scanner.

March 2021: New Home

On 29 March, MTT received the keys to a business unit based in Hailsham which they have leased for a long time. With offices and a large storage area, we are better placed to serve the community for the foreseeable future.

Image: MTT’s new home & registered office

A life-changing experience was instigated by arranging with a local manufacturer to produce NHS compliant impervious long sleeved gowns. Each washable gown dries in 20 minutes and can be re-used 10-12 times, making it a cost-effective PPE item that provides full security to NHS staff as well as employment for local factory workers.

Image: Jarvis Manufacturer employee modelling the gown

March 2020 onwards: PPE

MTT aims to organise a Community Initiative each year. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, resources were immediately channelled into sourcing, buying and distributing tens of thousands of PPE equipment items to safeguard NHS staff, care workers and vulnerable people, such as the hard of hearing.

Image: Co-chairman Bob Lewis presented Claire Lacey of Southdown Housing with donated face visors for use by care home workers – note the social distancing.

Dec 2019: Localiser Reader

This equipment worth £9,000 was donated to the Park Centre for Breast Care, Brighton to replace invasive guide wires prior to breast cancer operations.

Image: From L to R: Kathryn Cooke – Breast Health Sales Specialist, Hologic; Dr Alexandros Mytafidis – Consultant Radiologist, BSUH; Mr Charles Zammit – Consultant Breast Surgeon, BSUH; Bob Lewis – Founder/Co-Chair, Medi Tech Trust; Debbie Elwell-Sutton – MacMillan Breast Care Nurse Specialist, BSUH; Sandra Lewis – Trustee, Medi Tech Trust

Dec 2019: What Do Your Patients Need?

85 items of urgently needed equipment worth £80,000 donated to 18 surgeries in the Bexhill/Battle/ Hastings/Rye area, potentially benefitting nearly 150,000 patients.

Image: Amanda Baker, Practice Manager at Old Town Surgery receiving a certificate from Sir Peter Field, Lord Lieutenant for East Sussex showing the medical equipment received to benefit the surgery’s patients

June 2019: Lithotripter

A £265K Lithotripter was donated to coincide with the opening of a new UIS unit. Using shock waves, kidney stones are shattered into minute crystals that pass out of the body naturally. No invasive surgery or general anaesthetic is required, so patients can remain awake and return home the same day.

Image: Surgeon Graham Watson pointing to the patient’s kidney stone that will be shattered within 45-50 minutes.

June 2018: Tell Us What You Need

First UK Community Initiative specifically aimed at benefitting surgery patients.
90 items worth £70,000 of medical equipment were donated to 14 Eastbourne and District surgeries for the benefit of their 100,000 patients.

Image: Sir Peter Field, Lord Lieutenant for East Sussex presenting Certificate to Dr Rob Wicks of Seaside Surgery on receiving a specialist weighing machine for patients’ usage

2017: New Radiotherapy Centre

£150,000 Match funding project with the Friends of Eastbourne Hospital towards the launch of the Radiotherapy Centre. Patients no longer travel 40-60 miles daily for several weeks to receive treatment.

Image: Radiographers, Katy and Simon, who find the Scanner to be of great benefit to patients attending the Radiotherapy Centre

2015-2016: Healthcare Education in the Community

Year-long project whereby volunteer medical professionals gave short presentations in their specialist fields to members of the community to encourage positive changes in attitude resulting in a healthier lifestyle.

Image: Slide outlining the major reason why this project was needed