tiny tickers
Tiny Tickers is a small national charity with big ambitions. We’ve got a proud
track record of helping improve the detection, care and treatment of babies with
serious heart conditions, and we have exciting plans to do even more to help in
the future. We were founded in 1999 by world-renowned fetal cardiologist Dr
Helena Gardiner, when she realised many of the babies she was caring for could
have been helped earlier. Our chief executive, Jon Arnold, is the parent of a
child who has had open heart surgery for a major defect, and he heads our team
of staff and volunteers based throughout the UK. Mission and need We want to
increase early detection rates of cardiac conditions because we know that
spotting a defect early can improve a baby’s chances of survival and long-term
quality of life. Around 6,000 babies are born with a serious heart defect in the
UK each year, and around 1,000 of these newborns head home with no one realising
their lives are in danger. We are changing that. Find out more Our work and
impact Rates for heart problems being detected during pregnancy have more than
doubled since we launched – thanks in part to our work. We train sonographers to
spot defects during routine pregnancy scans; support families with a diagnosis;
campaign to improve service standards; raise awareness; and support academic
research. Find out more Our plans and ambitions We’ve already achieved a lot,
and we have exciting ambitions to make an even greater impact for heart babies
born in the UK. From large-scale sonographer training programmes; to new parent
support and information projects; to powerful lobbying campaigns for improved
standards – we’re doing even more to help.
