Pro golfer Matt Fitzpatrick helps buy virus equipment for children’s hospital

The 25-year-old is a patron of The Children’s Hospital Charity which supports the Children’s Hospital in his native Sheffield.

Professional golfer Matt Fitzpatrick has helped a charity to buy specialist ventilation equipment for a children’s hospital which is fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

The Children’s Hospital Charity (TCHC) has bought a £22,000 video laryngoscope for the intensive care unit at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

The machine will allow medics to quickly establish an airway in patients who have difficult respiratory conditions.

Fitzpatrick, 25, from Sheffield, is a patron of the TCHC, and the charity said the new equipment was largely bought thanks to his “substantial” but undisclosed donation.

The Ryder Cup player said: “My thoughts go out to the patients and all of the staff on the front line; hopefully this donation will help them through the coronavirus pandemic.”

Dr Rum Thomas, consultant in paediatric intensive care medicine at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, said the video laryngoscope will help doctors place breathing tubes in children safely.

She said: “The fitted camera will allow assisting staff to see the airway – this will help them to recognise difficult airways and help more effectively.

“It is also a valuable tool to help with training.

“In terms of the coronavirus, it also means equipment is at hand to help manage children with difficult airways more effectively and this will reduce the risk of exposing staff to potential infection.

“We anticipate that the equipment will be in ever-increasing use in the future, as the number of children and young people with complex airway problems attending our hospital continues to rise.”

Meanwhile, the charity continued to appeal for support as the lockdown has seen fundraising events cancelled.

Director David Vernon-Edwards said: “We urgently need to continue supporting the staff at Sheffield Children’s, who are working day and night to support the public throughout this crisis.

“Many charity events have been cancelled over the coming weeks, which were all due to raise vital funds, but they need our support more than ever.

“The extent to which we can help depends entirely on donations from the public.”

– For more information visit www.tchc.org.uk