THE DGRI NEONATAL UNIT received a welcome birthday present last week [10 OCTOBER] – a £1220 cheque from a former patient.
Hazel Porteous, who now lives in Moffat, was born in Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary (now the former Nithbank Hospital) on 1 July 1974. She was six weeks premature.
For her fiftieth birthday party on 29 June in Moffat Town Hall, she asked for donations to the DGRI Neonatal Unit instead of presents. Friends and relatives, and residents at the care home where Hazel works, gave a total of £1220.
“I’ve got a home now, I’ve got everything I want,” Hazel said. “But I realised I had never done anything for the neonatal unit, and I thought I should. So I decided to ask for donations to the unit. I was amazed at how much everyone gave.”
“I was 2 pounds 7 ounces [1.1kg] when I was born, but things have advanced so much – you see premature babies born now that are even tinier than me!”
The DGRI Neonatal Unit is classed as a Level 2 unit, meaning that it can provide high-dependency care for some premature babies. Newborn babies who are very premature or who need the highest level of care are transferred to a Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit in Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Neonatal unit senior charge nurse Becky McKnight said: “We are very grateful for this extremely generous gift. Many thanks to Hazel for organising it and to everyone who donated.”
The money will go to the Dumfries and Galloway Health Board Endowment Fund and will be earmarked to support the Neonatal Unit.
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