Qalb it-Tfal Foundation, together with the highly dedicated staff at the NPICU (Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) at Mater Dei Hospital, has set up a Basic Life Support program at the NPICU to teach and guide new parents how to deal with stressful situations including choking, CPR and assessing their newborn children.
To set up the program, the foundation purchased six Basic Life Support mannequins - two specialised mannequins for health care professionals to improve their skills whilst the other four are to be used to teach Basic Life Support Skills to a wider audience including staff and the general public. The mannequins, unveiled over the Christmas period, will be loaned out to health care professionals, BLS providers and for teaching purposes in schools and Mater Dei Hospital in the NPICU where they are based.
Working alongside the Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (NPICU) and the Medical Illustration Unit at Mater Dei Hospital, Qalb it-Tfal Foundation is set to release multidisciplinary informative video clips and leaflets to help educate parents on how to use Basic Life Support skills on their neonates and children.
The mannequins were purchased thanks to a fundraiser organised by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, along with the sponsorships from Prohealth LTD, Ganado Advocates and Blevins Franks Charitable Foundation and many donations from the public.
Qalb it-Tfal Foundation is committed to continuing its work to help and support children in need within our society, as vulnerable children need to be heard. The foundation is aiming to:
- Provide a counselling/psychological service to parents and staff within the NPICU in the first quarter of 2018.
- Purchase or rent an apartment where families are able to stay, so that they can be close to their children whilst they are in the NPICU. A long term project which has no date, yet it is one of the projects QIT would like to reach one day.
- Continue to help children suffering, but in 2018 put more focus on children suffering due to a problematic social background.