A state-of-the-art neonatal ultrasound probe, which is essential for scanning babies’ hearts, is now in place at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals thanks to generous funding.
The Fort Foundation, a Trust formed by Ted Fort and his company Fort Vale Engineering based in Simonstone, has awarded a grant of more than £4,300 for the ultrasound probe to Baby Beat, the charity which supports babies and mothers being cared for at Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.
The probe, which enables staff to source better quality images in term infants, also allows staff to share images with specialists at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to get valuable advice about their management.
Raju Narasimhan, Consultant Neonatologist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are so grateful to The Fort Foundation for their grant to Baby Beat which will enable us to use this incredible piece of equipment on Royal Preston Hospital’s neonatal unit. It means we can carry out exceptionally high-quality scans and reduce the risk of a sick baby being moved to a specialist hospital further away from their family. Approximately, we do about 100-150 heart scans on term infants on the neonatal unit, and the new probe will allow us to scan these babies and share them with other specialists to determine the best route of care.”
The Fort Foundation was created by Fort Vale, world leaders in the design and manufacture of valves and fittings for transportable tanks.
