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What is Heartbeat?
Heartbeat is a Northern Ireland registered charity, which was formed in 1984 as a support group for parents who had children with congenital heart disease, living in the province, regardless of how slight or severe their condition may be.
It soon became evident that because of donations from the public and fund-raising activities within families and friends of Heartbeat members who had a desire to help the Consultants and Staff at Clark Clinic bring the very best of treatment to our children, that there was a need for a specific group of people to act as Trustees. The Northern Ireland Children's Heart Trust was formed and, as they help us handle the funds, Heartbeat can concentrate on what it does best - support parents.
Over the years the word 'congenital' was dropped from our logo to enable Heartbeat to encompass other forms of heart problems in children, e.g., children developing heart problems after contracting illness, such as Kawasaki Syndrome, etc.
Since its inception, Heartbeat has developed a somewhat unique relationship with the Consultants and staff of Clark Clinic, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children - the only paediatric cardiac unit in Northern Ireland.
What does Heartbeat do?
Heartbeat has grown and now has locally based groups which practically cover the whole province. These groups are headed by a group organiser, who, of course, has a child with a heart problem.
The Heartbeat Committee is made up entirely parents who have had children with heart disease, and all the work is done on a totally voluntary basis.
To keep overheads down meetings are held in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, where we pay no rent or rates, and this, together with the fact that we have no paid staff, means that all monies raised in our name can go directly to helping children throughout the province who have heart disease.
Heartbeat provides accommodation above Clark Clinic, where parents can stay while their child is hospitalised. The accommodation is a four-bed-roomed unit, and also comprises, shower and toilet facilities, communal living room and kitchen.
A telephone link to Clark Clinic is installed in the accommodation, and this offers parents the piece of mind that should circumstances dictate, they can be contacted at any time, day or night.
The accommodation is often the first introduction many parents have to the workings of Heartbeat.
We also provide a Parent Pack in the ward and this gives parents comprehensive information on various relevant topics.
Family Support
Heartbeat has four caravans, two in Newcastle and two in Portrush, where families can take a break at very little cost to themselves. We hold two family gatherings each year - a summer picnic and a trip to the pantomime at Christmas.
We have found that these outings are a great way for parents to meet up, 'compare notes', meet old friends and make new ones.
Most importantly, however is the support we give to parents over the telephone, and our group organizers are constantly in touch with members in their area, helping them with their problems, fund-raising, or simply just being someone to talk to.
Financial Contribution
Our financial contribution to Clark Clinic is enormous - pumping more than £50,000 each year into much needed equipment. With finances in the Health Service at an all-time low, Clark Clinic relies heavily on contributions from Heartbeat to constantly update and purchase new equipment.
We recently purchased a multiplane transoesophageal probe at a cost of £20,000.
This is a device which takes pictures of the back of the heart, and in some instances can be used instead of cardiac catheterization, which has quite an effect on patients and require 24-hour constant care afterwards.
We have also purchased over 20 Coaguchek machines which monitor the warfarin level in a patients blood - the cost here would be in excess of £10,000.
Other recent purchases include:
Portable monitor for use in the ambulance transporting patients from Clark Clinic to the main Royal for operations.
24 Hour Tape reading equipment and monitoring machine.
Treadmill
Incubator for Ward
Security system and monitor for Ward.
Thanks
Fund-raising on behalf of Heartbeat takes on many guises - parachute jumps, sponsored walks, discos, birthday parties, football matches, golf tournaments, etc., the list is endless - and we are indebted to the Northern Ireland public for their generosity in helping us in our quest to provide support for parents who have children with heart disease.
Registered Charity
