New Tiny Tickers training scheme targets Yorkshire region

We are delighted to announce the launch of a major new training programme offering expert cardiac screening training to more than 200 sonographers and health professionals.

Working in conjunction with Leeds Congenital Hearts unit – the service based at the Leeds Children’s Hospital – we will be delivering our specialist training across the Yorkshire, Humber and North Lincolnshire region.

Tiny Tickers’ mission is to improve the early detection and care of babies with congenital heart defects and, during pregnancy, the best chance to spot a defect is at the fetal anomaly screening – commonly known as the 20 week scan.  Our expert training helps sonographers develop their skills and confidence to spot more heart defects, and will be offered free to every sonographer in the region – thanks to generous funding from the Big Lottery Fund, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and Sovereign Healthcare Charitable Trust.

Tiny Tickers’ chief executive, Jon Arnold, said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to launch our new programme, which will deliver training to hundreds more sonographers – something we hope will have a direct impact on increasing prenatal detection rates.

“Spotting congenital heart defects early – before babies fall into heart failure – can save lives and improve long-term quality of life. So it’s absolutely vital we improve detection rates and our mission is to give sonographers all the training and support we can to help them with their crucial work.

“We’re very excited about our partnership with Leeds Congenital Hearts and are looking forward to the programme beginning with our first training conference in July. We’re incredibly grateful to our funders for making this project possible.

“We very much see this as a pilot project. Once we’ve delivered free expert training across the Yorkshire region, our aim is do the same elsewhere in the UK.”

The training consists of two parts – a theory conference and then a hands-on practical session for each delegate in their own unit. The first conferences will be held in July at Sheffield Hallam University, who have kindly donated lecture theatre facilities, with the practical sessions delivered from September.