It was a carnival atmosphere at Hawke's Bay Hospital yesterday as Magpies rugby players hovered over the sausage sizzle, and the bake sale and raffle stand did roaring trades.
The celebration marked the official launch of the Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal, a fundraiser to help sick children in hospitals from 10 district health boards.
Hawke's Bay District Health Board chief executive Kevin Snee said the $41,000 raised last year bought much-needed equipment such as an observation room for the child development service, a hearing testing machine and breast pumps.
All the money raised in the Bay through local Countdown supermarket and HBDHB fundraisers would go directly to helping sick local children.
Progressive Enterprises general manager Richard Manaton said the fundraiser had become an "important institution" in the Bay since the HBDHB first became involved in 2008.
"This hospital provides a vital service to the community and continues to do so without the resources it needs. So we just try to top up the resources you need to help sick kids get better," he said.
Fundraisers would run around the country until the end of October. Countdown supermarkets would hold sausage sizzles outside its stores, and plans were in place to hold a community sports day, trivia night and movie screening.
Paediatric resuscitation trolleys were top of the HBDHB's wish list this year, according to clinical leader Jeanette Frechtling. The trolleys would be more technologically advanced and standardise procedures. "They'd be launched in three areas. It'd be much more efficient that way," she said.
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