A Cleckheaton supplier of medical equipment will see one its products deployed in Haiti.

Ferno. which manufactures medical and patient handling equipment, has donated a number of its new Ferno Fingertip Pulse Oximeters to a volunteer programme whereby foreign doctors and other medical personnel travel to Haiti and work with Haitian medics to give free emergency aid to the local community.

Ferno business development manager Darren Sharman presented the oximeters to Oxford-based Dr Joanna Cherry after being approached by Madeleine Radburn, medical devices advisor at the South Central Ambulance Service, based in the city.

Madeleine supports the Hospital Bernard Mews/Project Medishare through her local Lions Club charity and helps keep Joanna supplied with a range of medical equipment to help with the care of the spinal patients she treats in Haiti.

The new devices, which fit on to a patient’s finger, measure blood-oxygen saturation levels and heart rate quickly and accurately.

Jon Ellis, managing director at Ferno, said the device was a “must-have” accessory for frontline healthcare practitioners.

He said: “It is reliable, very easy to use and lightweight. It can be worn on a lanyard around the neck so it’s at your fingertips when you need a quick and accurate reading of blood-oxygen saturation levels and pulse rate.

“I’m sure that Dr Cherry and her team will find the devices useful on a regular basis.”

Dr Cherry said: “I will be taking them to Haiti and they will be used at the Hospital Bernard Mews/Project Medishare which is a trauma hospital in Port au Prince where we work with local doctors and patients to try and ease the burden of high level trauma in Haiti.

“We treat high level trauma, medical and surgical conditions in patients from all backgrounds and are proud to serve the Haitian people in their time of need. “