A former Stray FM Local Hero Award winner is celebrating raising £1million to support critically ill newborns across Yorkshire.
Fiona Martin set up charity ‘Friends of Alfie Martin’ in 2002 after tragically losing her son.
Alfie was born full term but needed urgent transportation to the Leeds General Infirmary to receive critical care, where he sadly died.
Fiona wanted to honour her son’s memory by improving the equipment available to critically ill babies throughout Yorkshire.
And in the 23 years since launching, the 'Friends of Alfie Martin' charity has been able to raise £1million.
It has celebrated by presenting a specialist scanner to the Leeds Centre for Newborn Care.
Dr Lawrence Niall Consultant in Neonatal Medicine said:
“The neonatal team are very pleased to be presented with a new ‘point of care’ ultrasound scanner by the Friends of Alfie Martin Charity.
“The charity have supported the Leeds Unit for over 20 years since baby Alfie was cared for on the NICU, and have raised over £1 million pounds for life saving equipment - an incredible achievement.
“This GE Venue Go scanner, which cost over £28,000, will be used on the neonatal intensive care unit in scanning babies hearts, brains and lungs and also in emergencies to check for pneumotothorax or fluid around the heart.”
He added:
“Point of Care Ultrasound Scanning (POCUS) is a growing field in neonatology and the team are extremely grateful for this new addition to their diagnostic tools we are so grateful for all the fundraising by the Friends of Alfie Martin Charity over many years.
“This new scanner is an exciting new development which will allow us to assess babies better during their intensive care treatment and will also enhance training of the next generation of neonatal professionals in POCUS scanning”.
The new state-of-the-art life-altering medical equipment will help Leeds Centre for Newborn Care, which looks after the sickest newborn babies from across Yorkshire.
Approximately 1,600 babies are treated at the centre each year.
For more information about the charitable work done by Friends of Alfie Martin, visit www.friendsofalfiemartin.org
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