Tiny Tickers launches new cardiac ‘hub’ of resources for health professionals working with babies with cardiac conditions and their families

Tiny Tickers, the only national charity dedicated to the early detection and care of babies with serious heart conditions, is pleased to introduce a new cardiac ‘hub’ - a single point of reference for health professionals of all Tiny Tickers’ support information, which can be easily shared, printed or ordered for the heart families they care for.

By accessing the hub, health professionals, such as cardiac liaison nurses and sonographers, can find all the information they need to support their patients, including videos, booklets, leaflets, information about different heart conditions and support and advice. This means that information relating to all aspects of the congenital heart defect journey can be easily accessed in one resource area. The hub also contains vital resources to aid professionals with their work, including a patient journey, up-to-date detection data and the Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (FASP) leaflet.

Tiny Tickers works with health professionals all over the UK to help improve the outcomes for babies with congenital heart disease (CHD). A core part of the charity's work is training sonographers who carry out pregnancy scans to have the confidence and skills to detect heart defects. The charity also places potentially life-saving pulse oximetry machines in maternity wards and spreads awareness of the key signs a baby may have an undiagnosed heart condition.

Tiny Tickers Head of Training, Anne Rhodes, says, ‘We are so proud to announce the launch of our cardiac hub – a single point of reference for health professionals that contains a wealth of invaluable information they may require in order to support themselves or the families they are caring for. Having all this information in one place ensures that health professionals are not reliant upon waiting for posted materials. They are able to access our materials easily from wherever they are and disseminate this information as needed to colleagues or the families that they care for. We have already received some excellent feedback from some of the clinical cardiac nurse specialists and we are looking forward to adding to it over the coming weeks and months.’

The current situation with COVID-19 means that heart units are facing many new challenges and changes in the way they deliver information and support. This includes the suspension of face-to-face meetings where printed information may have been shared, in favour of telephone or online consultations and meetings. In these settings, digital links and resources which can be easily shared are essential.

Supporting families affected by congenital heart disease is also an important part of Tiny Tickers’ work. By hosting all the necessary information in one hub, health professionals can now easily access everything they need to share with their patients.

The cardiac hub can be accessed at: https://www.tinytickers.org/professionals/cardiac-resources-for-professionals/

ENDS

Note to Editors

• Photographs and videos available.
• Quotes and interviews with cardiac specialists and parents are available

Contact

Please contact Katie Lawson, Head of Fundraising & Comms, Tiny Tickers katie@tinytickers.org 07733 034533

www.tinytickers.org

info@tinytickers.org

Twitter @tinytickers

Facebook @tinytickers

Instagram @tinytickers

About Tiny Tickers

Tiny Tickers, a national charity, was founded in 1999 by world-renowned fetal cardiologist Dr Helena Gardiner, when she realised many of the babies she was caring for could have been helped earlier. It helps babies with congenital heart disease (CHD), their families and the health professionals who look after them. We want every baby with a serious heart condition to have the best chance of survival and quality of life.

Tiny Tickers aims to:

• Improve detection and diagnosis of CHD
• Educate and support health professionals
• Advance treatment and care of patients
• Improve experience of families affected by CHD