Mail Force donates £300,000 of new Covid testing kit to Great Ormond Street children’s hospital

Patients at Britain’s best-known children’s hospital can expect faster treatment thanks to a major donation by Mail Force – one which comes with a royal seal of approval.

Great Ormond Street will receive £300,000 of a pioneering new Covid-19 testing equipment.

This will provide rapid diagnosis for children, families and medical staff, thus ensuring quicker access to medical care.

Last night, hospital bosses welcomed the ‘incredible’ donation from the charity, saying it would greatly enhance its treatment of some of the most vulnerable patients.

Great Ormond Street will receive £300,000 of a pioneering new Covid-19 testing equipment

Mail Force – created by this newspaper at the start of the pandemic – has now raised more than £11million to help combat the coronavirus.

Supporters have included tens of thousands of Mail readers, some of Britain’s leading philanthropists and public figures including the Duchess of Cornwall – who made a private donation early in the campaign.

Yesterday, the duchess sent the charity a simple, heartfelt message: ‘Huge congratulations to a brilliant cause.’

That sentiment was echoed last night by Matthew Shaw, chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital Foundation Trust.

Mail Force – created by this newspaper at the start of the pandemic – has now raised more than £11million to help combat the coronavirus

‘On behalf of all our staff, patients and their families, I would like to say a massive thank you to Mail Force for this,’ he said. 

‘It is crucial that all those children who require GOSH’s specialist care feel confident about coming into hospital.

‘We have worked really hard to make the hospital a safe space for them and their families and the equipment generously funded by Mail Force will make a real difference in helping us keep it that way.

‘Not only does it enable us to rapidly test patients before and during their stay with us, but it also helps us to keep staff protected so they can deliver the vital care these children need.’

HERE’S HOW TO DONATE 

Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-19 in the UK.

Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust. 

The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers. 

This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic.

If we raise more money than is needed for vital Covid-19 equipment, we will apply all funds to support the work of the NHS in other ways.

Click the button below to make a donation:

If the button is not visible, click here 

The latest donation consists of three separate components.

A US-designed Hamilton STAR robotic laboratory unit – the first of its kind to be used at Great Ormond Street – will provide extra capacity for pre-admission screening of all patients and asymptomatic staff.

Mail Force is also purchasing a ‘QIAsymphony’ robotic unit from Germany which will carry out ongoing testing of those already in hospital. 

Additionally, the hospital will receive an American ‘QuantStudio’ system for swift analysis of up to 300 swabs at a time.

Until now, Mail Force has focused on providing personal protective equipment for hospitals, care homes and charities.

We have sourced masks, aprons, gowns, face shields and coveralls from Lancashire, Yorkshire and as far afield as Turkey and Shanghai.

That work continues all over Britain as the charity works closely with Department of Health officials to ensure that Mail Force is meeting a pressing need and protecting healthcare workers.

In addition to expanding the range of PPE, the trustees and the NHS have also been exploring new ways of protecting medical staff.

One solution is to help Great Ormond Street expand its testing system to allow for rapid, large-scale testing at all hours. 

Until now, the hospital has been using borrowed or repurposed testing kit. The new machinery will transform the testing regime.

Louise Parkes, chief executive of GOSH Charity, said: ‘Since the start of this crisis, we have been working really hard to respond to the hospital’s needs.

‘But we have been caught in a perfect storm with those needs increasing at a time when we are also facing our own significant shortfall in donations.

‘It is thanks to the generous support of donors like Mail Force that we are able to support the hospital as it continues to give the very best life-saving care to those children who so desperately need it.

‘For that I would like to say a massive thank-you.’