Rural Northwest Health has bought an Abbott i-STAT analyser, used for point-of-care pathology testing for a range of chemistry tests including sodium, potassium, haemoglobin, and glucose.

The former Warracknabeal Landt Hostel Ladies Auxiliary donated money for the device.

The auxiliary merged last year with Yarriambiack Ladies Auxiliary to form Warracknabeal Auxiliary, which supports Rural Northwest Health’s Warracknabeal campus services.

Acute and urgent care nurse unit manager Scott Silcock said the device would allow staff to treat more patients on-site instead of transferring them to bigger hospitals.

“It will allow clinicians and nursing staff to measure haemoglobin so we can check any patient’s blood count, rather than having to send bloods to pathology at Ballarat,” he said.

Mr Silcock said the i-STAT would also help assess of patients with heat-related illnesses. “Now we are coming into hotter weather, we often need to assess the hydration status of a patient,” he said. “Normally this would require transferring them to a larger hospital, but now we will be able to instantly make an assessment and begin rehydration on-site.”

Mr Silcock thanked the auxiliary for the donation.