Project: Improving and extending jaundice testing for babies
Grants & funds: £3,800 from Kop Hill Climb and £1,899 from HoB general
Scannappeal raises funds to purchase life-saving equipment for Amersham, Stoke Mandeville, Wycombe and Community Hospitals which serve people living in Buckinghamshire and neighbouring parts of Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Oxfordshire.
They were recently fundraising for eight portable specialist jaundice meters in order to carry out non-invasive screening of new born babies, who could be at risk of brain damage if jaundice is not diagnosed quickly.
They were awarded two grants towards this project, which cost £30,400 in total. Providing eight meters has extended the service into the community and as a result mothers no longer have to make multiple trips to the county’s major hospitals in the first 14 days of a baby’s life, as testing can be done locally to home.
The advanced jaundice meters are able to quickly and accurately identify at-risk infants in seconds rather than hours and the information is instantly transferred to the infant’s electronic record, also helping to reduce admin time.
Case study:
Sarah’s* first baby required jaundice monitoring which involved Sarah leaving her home and driving to the maternity unit at the hospital for the tests to be performed. Sarah had delivered by caesarean section, so was very tired and in pain and also had to organise for someone to drive her to the appointments. This caused Sarah distress and increased her anxiety around breastfeeding her baby.
The new machine meant that when Sarah had her second child she was visited at home, enabling her to rest, bond with her baby and prevent separation from her other child. Sarah was extremely grateful for this care. – Allison Simms, Community Midwifery Matron
*name changed
