Corporate Partnerships Manager Georgie recently went along to St Luke’s Hospital in Bradford to meet up with Children’s Cardiac Nurse Specialist Araminta – whose role is funded because of your donations!
In this blog, find out a bit more about Araminta’s role and the difference she makes to heart patients and families in the Bradford area…
“How do you feel about change? Recently, there has been a lot of change in my life, most of which I embrace, but I definitely have moments of yearning for the world to stop turning so quickly.”
“One of our corporate partners asked me yesterday what the biggest change has been coming back to work at Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) after maternity leave. Two things come to mind…”
“First of all, I have returned to a charity that has progressed immensely in the last few years, now offering more services to our young heart patients and their families, which weren’t even available when I was last at work. This I find incredibly inspiring.”
“As a fundraiser it’s always very rewarding to see services developing and I am proud that CHSF is helping more babies and children born with heart problems and their families. This includes the establishment of two Family Support Workers and four regional Children’s Cardiac Nurse Specialists (CCNS).”
“Secondly, I am now a mum of two and I am very conscious that I am spinning multiple plates in the air in the hope that I can juggle them all at once without them coming crashing down.”
“Yesterday I shadowed, Araminta, who is the CCNS for Bradford, based at St Luke’s Hospital, and I was blown away by her amazing enthusiasm and compassion for her new role supporting cardiac patients and their families.”
“It soon occurred to me that Araminta was spinning far more plates than me!”
“During the course of one day, she will sometimes see up to 19 families giving them her invaluable care, compassion, and attention, often without a lunch break for herself.”
CHSF have funded regional cardiac nurses in Bradford, Sheffield, Calderdale, Grimsby & Scunthorpe and plan to fund more roles in more areas in the future.
“It was a privilege to spend time with Araminta to understand why her role is so vital to cardiac patients, and by the end of the day I found myself wondering how families coped before she started her role 8 months ago.”
“Her regional role allows her to be there for families in their hometown, so they don’t need to travel further than their local hospital for appointments and she is also able to do home visits, which are clearly so important for cardiac children.”
“She told me about a young autistic boy who is very anxious about having his blood pressure taken. Visiting him at home enables her to see him in his own safe environment, which gives her the opportunity to put him at ease in a situation he usually finds unbearable. On her last visit she made him laugh by pretending to test blood pressure on his dog.”
“As with every progression there comes more opportunity for change, and for CHSF this means continually reviewing and developing our support for young cardiac patients and their families.”
“This is a dream for every fundraiser because it means we know our work will continue to provide new and exciting projects for our loyal corporate partners and new businesses, as well as knowing our work is having a hugely positive impact in our local community.”
“Araminta highlighted a few areas for future development, including how we can enhance our communication with families. Currently she has to book an interpreter around three times a week to speak with patients who do not have English as a first language.”
“CHSF have a sign at the entrance to the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit ward translated into the top 10 languages spoken in Yorkshire and have produced some hospital literature into needed languages, but we have identified a need to improve on this and diversify our staff base to include a multi-lingual Family Support Worker.”
“In addition, Araminta, told me about the need for more distraction techniques while cardiac children are having an ECHO, to check the anatomy of their heart. It’s really important for children to stay still during this scan to ensure an accurate reading of the heart and all its complexities. Araminta has visions of disco balls and bubbles to make the room a more friendly and entertaining environment for children.”
If you or your business would be interested to work together to help make Araminta’s visions a reality I would love to hear from you at georgie.abbott@chsf.org.uk.
Georgie Abbott
Corporate Partnerships Manager
georgie.abbott@chsf.org.uk
Recruiting Corporate Partners across Yorkshire, North East Lincolnshire and The Humber who want to help improve the lives of children born with congenital heart defects.
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