More than 1200 Sunshine Coast children will not have to travel to Brisbane for health care if this year’s 92.7 Mix FM Give Me 5 fundraiser raises enough to pay for a vital piece of medical equipment.
The fundraiser for Wishlist, the Sunshine Coast and Gympie’s local hospital charity, has an ultrasound for the Sunshine Coast University Hospital’s (SCUH) Paediatric Unit at the top of its list.
SCUH Director of Neonatology Dr Lizelle Weber said the equipment will help keep critically ill newborn babies close to their families as they will not require retrieval for cardiac ultrasounds, and also help SCUH to establish a local Paediatric Cardiology service on the Sunshine Coast.
“The big reason we're after this machine is that we have about 1200 children who travel from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane yearly for the cardiac investigations and follow up,” Dr Weber said.
“The long-term aim with getting this piece of equipment is standing up a service for those kids to be seen locally.
“The paediatric cardiac echo machine is an ultrasound that we can use, not only for cardiac investigations in children, but also for other ultrasound other investigations on our wards, like cranial ultrasounds.
“In the heart, specifically, we're looking for structural abnormalities, whether there's a little hole in the heart or an absent vessel or a valve that doesn't function well. It also looks at the way the heart functions, so whether the heart is working well or not.”
About 1% of newborn babies have a congenital heart lesion, and may require lifelong follow up, or surgical intervention.
The birth rate has gone up on the Sunshine Coast, so the Sunshine Coast paediatric unit is seeing more babies with this condition.
The equipment will also benefit young patients with eating disorders which can affect the heart, and also patients with ADHD as medications can put stress on the heart.
Additionally, Give Me 5 will raise funds for two CO2 monitors which will also improve cardiac care for Sunshine Coast children.
This specialised equipment measures carbon dioxide levels without drawing blood form critically ill babies.
This can save a baby 3-to-5 blood procedures a day – which means there is less chance the baby will need a blood transfusion, which can be traumatic for the child and family.
92.7 MIX FM Give Me 5 Wish List:
- A $267,000 Paediatric Cardiology Ultrasound Machine to benefit premature and seriously ill babies.
- A $18,600 Non-Invasive CO2 Monitoring Machine for critically unwell or premature newborns.
- Continuation of Dads Group at Wishlist Centre to support new dads and keep families together.
- Continuation of the Sunshine Coast Clown Doctors service.
- Continuation of the Calm Fairies service at SCUH.
- Wishlist Therapy Dogs.
- Hospital accommodation to keep families together during a health crisis.
