Beam Campaign featured on BBC news
BBC news coverage of a fantastic fundraising dance-a-thon organised by Lianne Carter, Principal of Turning Pointe School of Dance, has focused the attention of the nation on our Beam Campaign.
Lianne’s young son Oscar has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Helping him navigate his way through treatment, Lianne describes just how upsetting and traumatic cannulation can be for children as well as their parents and carers when these young patients have to experience vital intravenous treatments and blood tests. “When we started on the journey with Oscar’s health, I’d never have realised that the cannulation process would be one of the most traumatic elements of his care. But it is.
“The huge impact that the use of ultrasound to identify Oscar’s veins has made to our experience cannot be over-stated. Using what Oscar calls his magic machines makes such a difference and has had an incredible impact on helping him face treatment sessions with far less fear. Ensuring that all children can benefit from vein finders is so important to me now, and I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to help raise funds and awareness for such an important matter.”
Our Trustee Caroline Pardy and Paediatric Consultant at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, explained “using ultrasound enables the clinician to see the vein directly, and watch the needle pass into the vein. This is really important because repeated attempts can be very traumatising for not only the child, but also the parent or carer. If you have repeated failed attempts at trying to access a vein, the veins become damaged and then can’t be used, and accessing veins can become progressively more difficult. In children who have chronic health conditions, this can become really quite serious and potentially life-threatening.”
Lianne wants to see ultrasound machines being made available to all paediatric departments to assist with venous access and has been a huge supporter of our Beam campaign.
You can see the BBC story here and if you’d like to help us achieve the goals of our Beam Campaign, we’d be delighted to receive your support.