Staff members at Greaves Electrical in
Hawera know first hand the difference a
new angiography machine and suite would
mean for Taranaki.
The business, which has pledged $10,000 to
the We Heart Taranaki campaign, has a staff
member who’s had cardiac problems this
year.
On January 31, appliance testing technician
Ian Spurdle was woken at 2.30am with pains in his chest. He got up and then went back to
bed, but the pain persisted, so he woke his wife. Ian was taken by ambulance to Hawera
Hospital where he was stabilised and then sent through to Taranaki Base Hospital in New
Plymouth. “I was in quite a bit of discomfort.”
At Base Hospital, it was confirmed that Ian had suffered a moderate heart attack.
On Saturday he was flown up to Waikato Hospital, while his wife and a friend drove up and
stayed in a motel around the corner. His temperature went up on the Sunday, so he wasn’t
able to have the angiography job done until Wednesday morning. Medical staff found he had
a blocked artery, so he had a stent put in.
With a new angiography machine and purpose-built suite in Taranaki, cardiac specialists will,
in the mid-term, be able to do stents at Base Hospital. Ian says that would be far more
convenient because going to Waikato meant his wife had to take time off work and he was a
long way from home. “It can be pretty disruptive and inconvenient.”
However, he did get top-class treatment at Waikato and is now in good health.
Greaves office manager Leasa MacLeod says Taranaki Health Foundation (THF) chairman
Michael Joyce contacted the electrical firm about backing the cause.
“We thought it was a good way to support the community so we got on board,” she says.
“You never know when you might need to use it.”
Leasa says giving to a cause like the angiography machine and suite will have direct results
and can immediately help people. “It will make a difference to a lot of people’s lives; not just
our employees, also friends and families.”
Greaves managing director Tim Reid says the medium-sized company has 46 staff and a
belief in supporting the local community. He understands the benefits of having top-class
technology close by because his grandmother, who lives in the Waikato, has ongoing heart
issues. She has had four stents and a pacemaker put in.
Tim encourages other businesses to support the THF’s We Heart Taranaki campaign.
“It will keep people in Taranaki,” he says.