ThinkHEART and save a baby...

Ok,

this is a plea, a begging letter from me...

I'm not exactly known for begging, but I am now.

I need you to share the picture below...

And not just to those of us in the Congenital Heart Defect world - this is a message for all new parents.  It is not there to scare them, its there to give them power to stand up to those who'd call them neurotic, that they're imagining things and all the other tales of horror I heard from parents around the country at the Children's Heart Federation Heart Forum and especially at the reception we had at the Palace of Westminster.

All babies should (in the UK at least) go through a number of types of screening that should pick up heart conditions:-

Pre-birth - ultrasound
At birth - the physical examination
At 6-8 weeks - another physical exam.

The last two form part of the Newborn & Infants Physical Examination -

http://newbornphysical.screening.nhs.uk/public - it specifically mentions the heart, and checking it.

Pulse Oximetry is being added to the mix, as luck would have it the NHS is reviewing the NIPE arrangements just as the high quality studies on its positive and other impacts came out.  NIPE will set the standard for all of the screening in the UK and will also make it clear what should happen after a positive result... It may seem stupid, but having a clear process makes it quicker and easier to get these babies the care they need.

But no screen, or set of screening tests, is perfect, some heart conditions won't be picked up  by the screen and that's when Mum & Dad know best.  If you think there's a problem there could be, and please please trust your instinct.





And ThinkHEART might just help parents trust those instinct...




If you can help with the spreading the word, and helping new parents and the medical professionals around them, ThinkHEART then please please do so.   If you want to get high quality printed version of the flyer (and bigger posters) with other campaign material then please click here Children's Heart Federation or email Danny at dannyb@chfed.org.uk or call 0207 422 0630

So I am begging - please share the ThinkHEART message - its out there on Twitter & Facebook, retweet it for heartweek or just share on Facebook.

You can make a difference with a click... 

TTFN

A begging Paul

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