A GLASGOW of the hospital is set to be at forefront of fetal medicine after a fundraising appeal secured state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment.

The cardiology scanner will help medics detect and treat life-changing abnormalities in unborn babies.

Worth £96,000, the equipment was made possible through the fundraising efforts of Barclays staff in Scotland for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.

It will make an "incredible difference" for Scotland’s Fetal Cardiology Service at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children. Consultant fetal cardiologist, Dr Lindsey Hunter, said: “The fetal cardiology scanner that the Charity have funded thanks to fundraising by staff at Barclays will make an incredible difference to children in Scotland born with heart abnormalities.

"Our service exists not only to give a diagnosis but to support families through the incredibly stressful and difficult journeys they face when an abnormality is detected.

“The little hearts that we look at are about the size of a thumbnail, meaning that the structures within the heart are only millimetres in size."

And it took a year worth of fundraising efforts to secure the needed cash with the Barclays staff going beyond the needed £100,000 through including the virtual Kiltwalk, skydives and runs.

Scott Stewart, head of Barclays Scotland, said: "I am proud of the generosity and kindness of colleagues who have gone above and beyond to raise funds for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

"Their efforts, with matched funding from Barclays, have translated into a lifeline for families and helped to give Scotland an important boost in a pioneering area of medicine."