Donation Boost for Hospital Heart Therapy Fund

AN innovative therapy brought to South Yorkshire by a doctor who was tragically killed in a road crash will soon be able to benefit many more patients after receiving a boost of more than Pounds 20,000.

Heart surgeon Dr Walter Rhoden, 47, and his GP wife Dr Kathryn Phipps, 45, died in March this year when a truck hit their Harley Davidson motorbike during a holiday in Florida. They left three children aged between 12 and 17.

Five years ago Dr Rhoden introduced the external enhanced counter- current pulsation (EECP) technology – more often known as “squeezy pants” – to Barnsley Hospital.

It consists of a pair of compressive trousers, similar to blood pressure cuffs, which inflate

and deflate in time with the patient’s heartbeat to encourage blood flow and help arteries grow.

Now the Mayor of Barnsley’s charity is set to donate Pounds 20,488 to the Squeezy Pants Fund.

The mayor, councillor Margaret Morgan, chose the fund because her husband Gordon, who suffers from angina, benefited from the treatment.

Steven Haigh, general manager at Barnsley Hospital, said: “Coun Morgan worked closely with Dr Walter Rhoden, who tragically died in March and I think this magnificent donation towards the Squeezy Pants Fund is one of many fitting tributes to Dr Rhoden and his drive and energy in developing this service within Barnsley.

“The fund appeal now stands at just over Pounds 50,000 and we are well on the way to purchasing a second machine.

“This is a really important step in developing the squeezy pants so we can provide the service to more patients in Barnsley and the surrounding areas.”

So far about 85 patients have received EECP therapy and, of those, 80 per cent reported “significant improvement” in their angina, enabling them to return to living a relatively normal life.

A raffle of a new Fiat 500 car, donated by Ted Johnson of Ted Johnson Garages, will also take place on October 8 to raise more money for the Squeezy Pants Fund.

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