Local Charity, Welfare

“Getting ahead” with Harry’s Hat

At our May Fayre we met up with Caroline, Matt & Harry Coates. Harry suffers with hydrocephalus (water on the brain).

Harry’s Hydrocephalus Awareness Trust (Harry’s HAT) was founded in 2018 to help children and their families who are affected by hydrocephalus. We asked what help they needed with their current projects and we discussed several options, but we are so thrilled that we chose to help fund the “Get-A-Head” campaign, that is making a tangible difference nationwide.

“We are so grateful to the Yateley and District Lions Club for supporting our ‘Get-a-head’ campaign by sponsoring the production of 10,000 NHS type approved paper tap measures. These tape measures are perfect for measuring an infant’s head circumference and give professionals and parents alike information about the campaign so they can learn more about why head circumference measurement is so important.

Thanks to this generous donation we have been able to support front-line health workers to learn why head circumference measurement is such an important tool for identifying hydrocephalus, a life threatening, yet treatable condition often referred to as water on the brain, in babies.

The campaign was launched at the Southwest 2022 Maternity and Midwifery festival in Cardiff to an audience of 500 midwives and student midwives.  It will now travel across the UK.  Every year an estimated 1 in every 770 babies will develop hydrocephalus.  It is the most common reason for brain surgery in children.  This campaign highlights the impact of this simple and painless procedure and helps health professionals understand and communicate to parents why this it is so important.   Thank you to the Yateley and District Lions we can now ‘get-a-head’!  www.harrys-hat.org/get-a-head