NHS Western Isles Maternity team to climb Clisham for Tiny Tickers

Members of the NHS Western Isles Maternity team are lacing up their hiking boots and pushing themselves to climb the Clisham on Saturday 23rd May 2026 to raise money for Tiny Tickers.

Tiny Tickers is a UK charity working to improve the early detection, diagnosis and care of babies with congenital heart defects – giving them a better start in life.

A baby is born with a serious heart condition every two hours in the UK and despite congenital heart disease being one of the biggest killers of infants, only around half of congenital heart defects are picked up during routine prenatal scanning.

With the help of fundraising, Tiny Tickers can provide a safety net for the 1,000 babies each year that leave hospital with their heart defect undetected, increasing detection rates, improving a baby’s chances of survival and long-term quality of life.

The charity has had a meaningful impact locally in the Western Isles, including:

• Donating six pulse oximetry machines to NHS Western Isles. Pulse oximetry testing is now part of the newborn examination for all babies across the islands, helping to identify serious heart conditions shortly after birth.
• The “Think HEART” online learning course funded by donations made in Finlay Eric's memory was developed and launched by Tiny Tickers for all health professionals working with babies, including midwives, doctors, nurses, and health visitors, and aims to teach the five key signs that a baby may have an undiagnosed heart defect.
• Providing training for local obstetric sonographers, access to bereavement counselling, support for families navigating congenital heart conditions, and family support groups.

The NHS Western Isles Maternity team was first introduced to the charity Tiny Tickers by Ruth and Finlay Macleod, the amazing parents of Finlay Eric who tragically passed away on 31st May 2021 at only 20 weeks old, with an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. All  Tiny Tickers-supported training, education and resources has been funded through the work of Finlay Eric’s family, done in his memory under the name ‘Finlay’s Forever Footprints’.

The team wanted to dedicate their Clisham climb to Finlay Eric’s legacy on what should be his 5th birthday year.

Karen Macleod, Midwife, NHS Western Isles, said: “It was a difficult decision to choose a charity to support, as in our daily work we benefit from the services and research of many organisations. However, we chose Tiny Tickers because of the direct impact they have had on our care locally. Their work is helping to improve the early detection of congenital heart disease, and every pregnant woman and baby in our community is benefiting from that.”

The team has set up a JustGiving page to support their fundraising efforts, and donations can be made online to help Tiny Tickers continue its life-saving work. Anyone wishing to contribute or find out more can visit the team’s fundraising page and show their support: https://www.justgiving.com/page/karen-macleod-1?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=WA