Helping rebuild lives

Susan Insole is a prosthetics technician at QVH. Charitable funding has helped her and her team improve patient care at the hospital.

QVH makes thousands of prosthetic devices for patients each year, from noses and ears to fingers and toes.

The prosthetics team wanted to start using a new type of silicone which would enable devices to be made much more quickly. It also allowed the prosthetics team to colour mix the silicone, with the patient present, to make sure they are happy with the prosthesis and are able to get a much better idea of what the final device will look like.

The team applied to the QVH Charitable Fund for a machine to roll the silicone and received £2000 to buy the machine.

Susan said: “The machine is brilliant and gives us another tool to help meet our patients’ needs. It gives us options for getting the right solution for whatever problem we are faced with. It also means that patients can get more involved in the development of their prosthesis, making sure they are satisfied with its look and colour and giving them a better idea of what the final prosthesis will look like.”