Two postgraduate nursing students from Kingston University have helped a hospital in Tanzania secure much-needed medical supplies to treat patients in the East African country through a fundraising drive.

Mental health nursing student Molly Davis and adult nursing student Daisy Lipscombe worked at the Meru District Hospital for their elective placement at the end of their first year and were inspired to support the hospital after seeing the challenges staff face day to day.

Commenting on the hospital's conditions, Daisy said: "Before arriving, we were expecting resources to look a lot different to the hospital environments we were used to, but within days of being there the lack of even basic supplies was really apparent.

"Seeing the staff struggling to take care of people less fortunate than ourselves motivated us to want to do something to help."

One of the most striking experiences that stuck with the nursing duo was seeing a patient on a female ward asking for a tissue, but with no staff having any on hand se had to go through her handbag to find one herself.

Molly explained: "It was something so basic that we couldn't help her with and it was just one of the major differences we noticed in the provisions available."

Molly from Ashford, Surrey and Daisy from Hampton, Richmond upon Thames, raised more than £600 for the hospital in two weeks through a JustGiving page, exceeding their original target of £250.

With the money raised, they bought a range of medical supplies for the hospital before returning home, including electronic blood pressure machines, manual blood pressure machines, pulse oximeters, stethoscopes, bandages, personal protective equipment (PPE), notepads and pens for staff, and cleaning essentials.

Some of the medical supplies Molly and Daisy bought for the hospital with the money they raised.

They are now continuing to raise money for the hospital from the UK and hope to send some additional supplies back to Tanzania.

Molly added: "The lack of privacy for patients was something we were really conscious of - there were no curtains between the hospital beds.

"My partner works in an upholstery business and we're hoping to make some privacy curtains with the additional money we raise."

Senior lecturer in adult nursing in the Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education Michelle Grainger praised the students on their fundraising efforts.

She said: "We are all immensely proud of the contribution Molly and Daisy have made to this hospital. The elective placements are designed to be a rewarding experience that broadens our students' skillset by giving them exposure to clinical practice. Molly and Daisy have taken it one step further by giving back at the same time."