A FUNDRAISING campaign to raise £150,000 for a heart scanner for Scots babies has reached its target thanks to the generosity of the public.
Thousands of children in Scotland will benefit after Yorkhill Children’s Charity raised the money for a cardiac scanner at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
The charity launched their Little Hearts Appeal in November to help the almost one in 100 babies born in Scotland with congenital heart disease.
The new scanner is able to diagnose and treat heart conditions more quickly and effectively, and can even be used on unborn babies.
As the national provider of paediatric cardiology services, the scanner will be used to treat approximately 35 children each day at the new children’s hospital.
Shona Cardle, Chief Executive, Yorkhill Children’s Charity, said: “Thanks to the generosity of the Scottish public and the dedication of our fundraisers, babies born in Scotland with heart defects will have the best possible chance to win their fight.
“As a charity we are committed to enhancing the excellent care delivered by NHSGGC at the Royal Hospital for Children and we are delighted to have been able to fund the new cardiac scanner.”
Yorkhill Children’s Charity works in partnership with the NHS, which is funding two additional scanners.
The three scanners will be placed in intensive care, the catheter laboratory and the main cardiology department.
The scanners will help children with similar conditions to five-year-old Caitlin Hartley from Musselburgh.
When she was born, her parents were told she would require open heart surgery due to a rare condition known as truncus arteriosus - which means she only had one large blood vessel leading out of the heart instead of two.
She underwent three open heart surgeries at the former Yorkhill Hospital and the new Royal Hospital for Children. Her dad Steve – who has raised thousands for Yorkhill Children’s Charity – believes the scanners will make a huge difference to children born with heart defects.
He said: “We’ve spent a lot of time in hospital with Caitlin over the last four years.
"When your child is unwell all you want to know is that they are getting the very best care and that the medical staff have access to the latest equipment.
"It’s wonderful that the charity has been able to raise the money required to pay for the new scanner, which will clearly make a difference to the lives of many children from all over Scotland.”
"The scanners show the heart in 4D (a moving 3D image) which allows medical staff to see chambers, valves, vessels and other intricate structures with life-like clarity.
"This can help to diagnose heart conditions in babies and children more accurately, allow for quicker action which could save lives and help staff prepare the best possible treatment plan.
"Yorkhill Children’s Charity continues to provide vital enhancements to the new hospital having already funded more than £5.5m in equipment and service delivery including the £1m interactive play area and the Yorkhill MediCinema.
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