help the St. John Ambulance Brigade buy a piece of medical equipment.

Brigade representative Susan Parsons said the organisation had a "wish list'' of equipment it needed and at the top of that list was a Propaq monitor.

The Propaq monitors all of a patient's vital signs -- such as temperature, heart rate and blood pressure -- which currently have to be monitored by the first aid worker attending the patient. It is also portable so a patient's vitals can be monitored at any time and in any location.

Having such a machine would enable the first aid worker to spend more time attending to the patient's needs rather than being tied up keeping track of the patient's vitals. Ms Parsons noted that the machines ranged from $3,000 for the base model to more than $5,000 for more advanced models.

King Edward VII Memorial Hospital has one Propaq monitor and the Bermuda Fire Service is looking to purchase a machine, she added.

Ideally, the St. John Ambulance Brigade would like one monitor for each of its three ambulances, said Ms Parsons.

Ms Parsons also noted that the St. John's Day Service at the Cathedral would be held this Sunday at 11 a.m.. And the Brigade also urgently needed taggers for its tag days on July 7 and 8.

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