YORK hospital patients are to benefit from high-tech equipment which can prevent a potentially fatal condition - thanks to a nurse'S luck and determination.

Suzanne Scott put £1,000 she won at a medical conference towards buying a Sequel machine which has inflatable leggings that fit over a patient's legs and inflate and deflate to stimulate circulation and reduce the threat of a blood clot.

Suzanne, an operating theatre nurse at York District Hospital, gained the cash for buying theatre equipment in a draw but was disappointed when she fell £600 short of the amount she needed.

But when she explained her problem to Sequel producers, Tyco HealthCare Group, the company turned her sorrow to joy when it agreed to supply not one but two machines worth £3,200 in return for her £1,000 winnings.

"I was thrilled and stunned," she said.

"I wanted to buy equipment that would be of benefit to patients and also could be used in any operating theatre, and thanks to Tyco's generosity we'll have twice the benefit."Blood clots, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), can occur after long periods of immobility on the operating table, or as recently reported after long haul flights.

Jacky Fountain, medical sales specialist for Tyco Healthcare, said: "The Sequel machine retails at £1,600 but David Brown, Marketing Director for Tyco, was so impressed by Sue's commitment to DVT prevention, he offered her two machines."

Jacky said DVTs were potentially very dangerous, because if they went on to become a pulmonary embolism they can be fatal.

"Research shows that DVTs and pulmonary embolisms are potential complications during surgery and so the more that can be done to prevent them from occurring, the better. Tyco's Sequel machine is one of only a handful of interventions that are clinically proven to reduce the incidence of DVT," she said.The presentation of the new equipment means York District Hospital now has three of the Sequel machines.