Charity

Aims & Achievements

We aim to keep the Freeman Hospital at the forefront of children's cardiac care by raising money to buy equipment, facilities, aftercare, pay salaries and research for the Children's Heart Unit and PICU. Small pieces of equipment help the nurses on the wards and larger items help doctors and surgeons undertake complex operations. Sometimes funds are used to help pay for medical and support staff, essential to the running of the unit and also for specialist resources to help children and their families.

Around 300 small babies and children are operated on each year by the children's heart surgeons at the Freeman Hospital.

Heart problems are one of the most common types of abnormality found in newborn babies. Many of them are tiny infants who up until a few years ago would not have survived. Out of 33,000 babies born in the Northern region each year, around 300 will require surgery and many more will require medical or outpatient treatment in the Children's Heart Unit (Ward 23).

Not all children are born with heart disease. Viruses can severely weaken the heart and cause it to fail. The Freeman Hospital is one of only 2 hospitals in the UK that perform children's heart transplants and that use mechanical hearts to keep these children alive until their heart either recovers or can be transplanted. Since 1987 over 250 children have received a transplant.

Because of the special expertise at the Freeman Hospital, children are referred to us from Ireland, Scotland and many hospitals throughout England. On a rare occasion they may even be referred from overseas.

Ward 23 (Children's Heart Unit) is an eighteen bed ward, taking babies and children of all ages. It is equipped with a six cot nursery and twelve beds for older children. It has a large playroom, a room equipped with computer games for older children and an outside play area, including a mini football pitch and basket ball nets, a lot of which were funded by CHUF.

Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) has been equipped with the most modern medical technical equipment and patient monitoring facilities thanks to CHUF funds. To date, over £1 million has been raised for this facility alone.

How Started

The charity was founded in 1979 by parent Ann Scott and was originally called the Lesley Ann Scott Memorial Fund. Ann started the charity after the death of her daughter Lesley Ann on the 10th February 1979. Lesley Ann was born with a congenital heart defect as was her sister and Ann's first daughter Lisa, who sadly also died from the same heart related condition.

It was in February 1983 when the name of the charity was changed to the one we know now, the Children's Heart Unit Fund. This was at the request of Ann Scott, whose family to this day are still actively support CHUF.

On 27th August 1989 was the date of the worlds biggest children's party which took place on the Town Moor in collaboration with Kelburn Holdings via PES Associates Charitable Trust. The Director at the time, Brian Burnie organised the event which attracted over 120,000 people and in return raised more than £260,000 for CHUF.

CHUF funds enabled the artificial heart programme to start in the late 1990's and still makes an important contribution to the programme, having funded specialist monitoring equipment to enable the current devices to be used more safely.

We have also purchased a portable echo machine at a cost of £76,000. This equipment has made the lives of child patients and their families much easier as it enables the cardiologist to go to other hospitals to assess some children, rather than every child having to travel to the Freeman.