Thanks to donations and gifts in Wills, Leeds Hospitals Charity has funded a “Chester Chest” manikin for the paediatric haematology and oncology service based in Leeds Children's Hospital.

Many patients requiring paediatric haematology and oncology treatment need a central venous access device which enables bloods to be taken, blood product transfusions to take place and chemotherapy treatment to be administered.  The device means that multiple needles are not needed as the central venous access devices are surgically placed and remain in situ, often for many years.

Before patients have surgery to place their device they are prepped by the paediatric oncology and haematology team. Some patients can choose which device they have fitted. To give the best possible advice before choosing their device - or to prepare the patient pre surgery – the team shows patients, and their parents or carers, what the possible options are. One way of doing this is to use a 'Chester Chest' manikin.

The Chester Chest is a life size piece of equipment which simulates a male patient’s chest. It has a catheter and a port in place and is a very realistic representation of how a central venous access device looks. Chester Chest can also be used to train staff members in the use of these devices as the devices can be used in the simulation of blood sample taking and in the case of the implanted port - how to access with an appropriate needle.

Leeds Hospitals Charity funded the purchase of a Chester Chest with dark skin to provide a more representative manikin for some of the hospital’s patients.  The majority of the team’s patients with conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell disease do not have white skin.