All posts by Anne

£1000 donation – thank you

A big thank you to 4 lovely ladies in Haslingden who run regular coffee mornings and aim to raise funds for different charities. We were fortunate to be chosen in January so for the last 6 months they have been busy having raffles and meeting together to raise money and socialise.

On the 7th of June we were invited to collect a cheque for £1000 – so I was joined by Gill with her grandchildren, and Rachel with Martha. We showed them what CHA have been doing recently to let them know the sorts of things we will be spending their money on. Several people were delighted that our pictures showed heart children doing very normal things – even if they did need the occasional assistance of a wheelchair or big buggy.

A huge thank you to Maureen Jackson, June Lennon, Caroline Thompson, Beryl Abraham and all the generous people of Haslingden. Your gift is very gratefully received.
Anne

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AGM 2014 at Chester Zoo

We’re holding this year’s Annual General Meeting at Chester Zoo on 14th June 2014.  Members can also get discounted admission to the zoo following the AGM.

For more details see our poster below.

Chester Zoo AGM 2014

Heart Week 2014

We had a great time during Heart Week this year. We had a display on the corridor at Manchester Children’s Hospital, and gave the hospital some of the lovely story books we’ve bought.

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Thanks to Luke who works with me at Trafford General and has raised lots of money for CHA from colleagues at Trafford and at Manchester Royal infirmary where he used to work.IMG_5523

The children had a great time at the Build a Bear workshop.

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Trip to Eureka! in Halifax

Eureka 14

We’re heading off to Eureka! in Halifax on Saturday 22nd February.  Entry is free for member families and non-members may come along for £5.50 each.  Contact Val for booking.

UPDATE: We’ll be meeting there at 10:30 and there are indoor picnic tables if you wish to bring a picnic.

Celebrating 40 Events for 40 Years

Hi everyone,

We have some plans to celebrate in a BIG way in 2014. Not all details are finalised yet but put these dates in your diary, and some events still to be arranged – so we hope there will be something that suits your family.

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Check who is organising each event as some events are coordinated by the hospital teams.   Many of the events are to be confirmed so keep your eye on our website (heartchild.info/events) and Facebook page (heartchild.info/facebook), get in touch with your local branch, call our helpline or email us for more details.

Free events are those where we only pay for those who arrive on the day.  For events where we pay in advance you will be required to pay before the event so we are not left out of pocket.

Please bring your unwanted gifts for use as prizes.

Boomerang Sensory Play Centre

Saturday 25th January 2014

sensory-room1We had a fun afternoon at Boomerang Sensory play centre in Bury yesterday (Sat 25th Jan).

They have a soft play room with a great slide – Thomas’s mum’s toe is still recovering – and I hear Alfie’s dad had something to do with it too.  There is a quiet sensory room where Freddie enjoyed launching himself into the ball pool with clear balls that changed colour with the light below.  But my favourite room was the interactive room with noisy touch games on the wall and an interactive mat where you could walk on the piano keys, or chase frogs or jump on the drum kit.  The interactive game changed every couple of minutes so no-one got bored.  Harry and George had fun there too.

Great to catch up with Dylan’s mum and dad over a cuppa.  We’ll definitely do it again sometime.

Check out their website at www.boomerangcentre.co.uk.

Cardiac Network update

I’ve been to the children’s Cardiac Network meeting this afternoon.  Things are changing and the aim is to work more closely together whether you are at Alder Hey, Manchester or at a local hospital to make sure that every child gets appropriate care and support.  These changes will take place whatever the new national review decides.

There’s a new website in the pipeline which will show a clear pathway for GPs and parents so everyone knows what will happen to a child with a heart problem in our area.

There are new cardiologists being appointed in Liverpool and Manchester and each job specifies that there will be shared working at the other hospital to help bring the two teams closer together.  We don’t yet have a questionnaire ready for parents but it’s top of the list to do.

I asked about the recent TV interest in the surgical teams at Alder Hey.  The network monitor and publish the safety figures closely and there are no concerns with the cardiac surgery section.  If any parents have any worries just let me know as I can put you in touch with the cardiac team who will take time to talk to you and listen to your concerns.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) specifically interviewed the cardiac team at Alder Hey and I will let you know their report as soon as it is published.

I also raised your concerns about the new booking system at Alder Hey.  This has been particularly hard hitting to the cardiac outpatient system which had been performing well before, but has improved other areas of the hospital where queues had been a problem.

Next meeting in March so let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to feed back.

Anne Flear
Children’s Heart Association

We are a charity based in the North West of England in the UK and provide support to families with children with congenital or acquired heart disorders at all stages of their condition, helping them deal with the problems and challenges it brings.
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