UNIFORMS from Prospect Hospice have travelled more than 4,000 miles to help midwives in the African country of Burkina Faso.

The hospice in Wroughton donated the uniforms to midwives in a local hospital after new guidelines issued to the nursing profession meant they suddenly had a surplus of summer-weight scrubs.

Staff nurse Jane Poole from the in patient care unit at Prospect had supported charitable causes in Burkina Faso, in West Africa, and came up with the idea to ship the old uniforms to the region, which can suffer from high infant mortality rates and a shortage of reliable healthcare.

She said: “When I visited Burkina Faso I discovered that it’s a hot, dry and very impoverished country, with a high mother and baby mortality rate.

"I have a friend who has close links with the country, and she works with and helps to educate midwives there.

"I asked her if she thought there would be a need for the uniforms in Burkina Faso, and they were thrilled to be offered them, and we packed them off in a container and sent them on their way."

After sending the uniforms off the hospice got an email through with a picture of the midwives posing in their scrubs.

"I was delighted to be sent photos of midwives in our old scrubs and felt pleased that Prospect Hospice has been able to make a difference to mothers and babies in Burkina Faso," she added.

A spokesman from Prospect Hospice said: "We were delighted to be in a position to help nurses in Burkina Faso in this way, thanks to Jane’s previous experience there. Jane knows only too well how much this gesture will be appreciated and valued.

"It’s great that a nurse caring for people at the end of their lives here in Swindon thought of midwives 4,000 miles away.

"The uniforms we could no longer use are now being worn by nurses caring for new-born babies and everyone at Prospect Hospice was glad that we were able to make a difference in this way.”

In 2017 uniforms for nurses on the hospice's inpatient unit were changed after a recommendation by the Francis Report that the role of senior nurses was better reflected with a smarter uniform.

Burkina Faso is a land-locked country, which, also being near the equator, can suffer from long hot summers and periods of drought.

The infant mortality rate in 2012 was 66 per 1,000 live births, compared with 3.6 per 1,000 births in the UK.