Crucial accessories for emergency care on the road, Peter Cerny Foundation

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In 2024 we once again reached out to the Peter Cerny Foundation, a charitable organisation based in Budapest that has been operating now for 35 years with the prime objective of saving premature babies in the Central Hungary region. With staff numbering around 35 they perform vital work in ensuring babies get the essential care they need at the right time.

Following discussions, the PCF asked for our support in various ways. Firstly, we helped put a new and fully equipped ambulance on the road. The funding provided by the RBIF helped to install a vital hydraulic load-lift in the ambulance, which is used to lift the incubators in and out of the vehicle. Safety is obviously paramount during the use of these ambulances, and the generous support of the guest and sponsors at the January 2024 Burns Supper was crucial in making this happen.

But our assistance didn’t stop there. The success of the 2024 event enabled us to finance the purchase of nasal equipment, breathing circuits and humidification chambers that are essential for the daily rescues of neonatal babies and for transporting ventilated patients between hospitals.

Peter Cerny Foundation director Barnabás Lendvai:

These pieces of equipment are very expensive to purchase, and the public funding we receive from the state only covers 62% of our operating costs (2023 figure). The grant kindly donated by the Robert Burns International Foundation has covered our needs in this area for about 1 month of the year, which we thank you for, especially on behalf of the premature and sick newborn babies that we save.

The Peter Cerny Foundation operates as a public provider offering a service that is not fully covered by the state, ensuring life-saving care for newborn babies born unexpectedly outside of the hospital environment, but requiring specialised treatment. They are on call day and night, but with only 62% funding for running costs, they are unable to operate without direct support from companies and organisations as part of their social responsibility frameworks.

“Selfless donations such as the one provided by the RBIF covers the purchase of special equipment for this life-saving care of premature babies, often weighing between 400 and 1000 grams, so we are extremely grateful to the guests and sponsors of the RBIF.”

 

RBIF donations used daily by patients and medical staff in Vác

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Following a first and successful donation in 2023 for the Jávorszky Ödön Hospital in the city of Vác, just north of Budapest, the Foundation Board of the RBIF decided to continue its support of this health-care institution that performs vital work in the region.

 

Dr. Ila Veronika, chief physician and head of the paediatric department, was delighted upon hearing news of the next round of assistance funded by the guests and sponsors of the Burns Supper, and soon came back to us with their wish-list.

In 2024 the children’s ward of the hospital in Vác received two high-quality beds and two very accurate and reliable scales, significantly improving the level of care offered to newborns and young children.

The beds are comfortable and easy to use, thereby helping patients recover more quickly. The nurses, for their part, find the beds very easy to clean and maintain, which is not an insignificant consideration. – explained Dr, Veronika Ila.

The scales purchased by the Robert Burns International Foundation from the 2024 donations are extremely accurate and are crucial for measuring the volume of breast-feeding in newborn babies.

According to Dr. Ila,

these scales allow even the smallest changes in weight to be reliably monitored, whether it’s a loss of fluid or the amount of breast milk taken, these volumes cannot be measured in any other way.

Such equipment is essential for tracking crucial changes in the health of newborns, adding that these donations directly contribute to improving daily operations at the hospital. The RBIF’s continued focus on providing practical, life-saving tools has strengthened its relationship with the hospital, ensuring a brighter future for paediatric care in the Vác region.

The equipment and furniture financed by donations from the RBIF are used by the patients and the medical staff in the children’s ward every day, helping to make a real difference to the quality of care.

 

Delayed development assessments in Zalaegerszeg

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For many years now as part of our SME Sponsorship Scheme, and in collaboration with FirstMed Centers, the Robert Burns International Foundation has supported the Infant and Paediatric Department at the Szent Rafael Hospital in Zalaegerszeg.

This hospital not only functions as a health-care institution for the 60,000 people who live in this town situated in the south-west of Hungary in Zala county, it is also the main hospital for the surrounding area, and accepts patients from throughout western Hungary, and even from across Hungary’s borders.

The assistance that we were asked to give in 2024 was directed at three different areas of the paediatric department. The first priority was to acquire a set of equipment enabling the doctors and nurses to perform Bayley III assessments.

As explained by Consultant Physician Dr. László Gárdos,

the Bayley III test assesses the development of infants and young children from one month to 3.5 years of age. It provides detailed information on children’s cognitive, language and motor functions, social and emotional reactions. The test helps to identify delayed development and provides information for planning necessary interventions.

The second area the RBIF was able to help in 2024 was with the purchase of an ultrasonic drug nebuliser. This device is used to treat respiratory diseases effectively. By inhaling the drug in a nebulised form, the drug is delivered to the lowest airways. This technology can significantly increase the effectiveness of the therapy.

Finally, we financed the purchase of a stool calprotectin analyser.

This device is a great help in the care and treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and indeed with diagnosing the disease. The extent of inflammation in the gut can be assessed by using the analyser – explained Dr. Gárdos.

The relationship we have with the Szent Rafael Hospital in Zalaegerszeg is in fact a three-way partnership, as from the very outset we have teamed up with Dennis Diokno and his team at FirstMed in providing this much-needed assistance. Our thanks to them for continuing to support us in the SME Sponsorship Scheme so we can facilitate these improvements at the hospital in Zalaegerszeg every year.

 

Modern cabinets and bed scales for Budapest’s Paediatric Clinic

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The Tűzoltó Street Department of Budapest’s Paediatric Clinic looks back on a history of more than 135 years in child health care.

This clinic was the very first beneficiary of a donation from the Robert Burns International Foundation back in 1998, and every year since then the RBIF has endeavoured to provide much-needed support to help the excellent doctors and nurses perform their tasks to the best of their ability.

In 2024, the clinic came to us with two requests. Firstly, there was a pressing need for bedside cabinets. Dr. Erika Tomsits Szirtesné, chair of the Foundation for the Patients of the Tűzoltó utca Paediatric Clinic explains why.

The reason for the bedside cabinets is related to the consequences of the recent COVID pandemic. This is because the patients in the fever ward are no longer allowed to share a common playroom/dining room, and so we were compelled to come up with some solution to organise the meals in this ward, even if that meant the patients eating from their bed. These items of furniture are suitable for these purposes, they meet all of the hygiene requirements and are easy to move.

The second request was for modern bed scales. The scales financed by the Robert Burns International Foundation are light, accurate, easy to place under the patient lying on them and, of course, they can easily be used to measure the weight of another patient after disinfection.

In the case of patients suffering from chronic debilitating illnesses (intensive care, oncology, neurology), it is particularly important to monitor weight changes accurately during treatment – added Dr Tomsits.

The hospital in Tűzoltó utca is one of the principal children’s hospitals not just in Budapest but for the whole of Hungary. Children needing special treatment are often transferred here from other hospitals, so it makes sense to help ensure this hospital has the equipment needed to offer the best available support for sick children in Hungary. This assistance is made possible as ever by our Burns Supper sponsors, and in 2024 our main sponsors included @Budapest Airport, @bp and @FirstMed.

Join our 2024 SME Sponsorship Scheme!

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Now that we have successfully completed the Burns Supper we are looking ahead to our SME Sponsorship Scheme for 2024, and are actively seeking small and medium-sized businesses to take part. 
In 2023 we helped hospitals all around the country as part of this scheme, adding more than EUR 5,000 to the funds raised at the Burns Supper. Can we beat that this year? 

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 21st February 2024!

How does the scheme work?

  1. If you would like to make a targeted donation to a children’s hospital in Hungary, then get in touch, and let us know how much you would like to donate.
  2. The RBIF matches your donation.
  3. Together we identify a region of the country you would like to help, then with the help of our medical adviser we make contact with a hospital to assess their needs and how we can best assist them.
  4. We fund the purchase of the proposed equipment, and in a few months’ time we can visit the hospital to see what a difference the joint donation between the RBIF and your own company has made.

It really is no more complicated than that. Together we make the most out of your generous donation, and you can rest assured that 100% – in fact 200%! – of your donation will be used as effectively as possible.

For more information about the SME Sponsorship Scheme projects in 2023 just visit the Blog on our website.

IMPORTANT: We only have 5 slots in the SME Sponsorship Scheme this year, and one has already been snapped up, so please do get in touch soon if you think we can help.

Vital help for cystic fibrosis diagnosis in Hódmezővásárhely

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For six years now, the Robert Burns International Foundation has supported the Infant and Children’s Department of the Hódmezővásárhely-Makó Health Care Centre with generous donations, totalling almost HUF 6 million. The equipment purchased so far has mainly been used for therapeutic purposes.

With this year’s donation, funded jointly with Inter Relocation again, we purchased a sweat analyser, which expanded the diagnostic capabilities of the children’s department. The device determines the concentration of sodium chloride ions in sweat and is used in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, one of the most common congenital genetic diseases in the European population. The disease develops when a child inherits an abnormal gene from both parents, and is caused by a genetic defect in the protein responsible for transporting chloride ions in the saliva-producing glands, which leads to the formation of thick, sticky saliva that mainly affects the lungs and pancreas, but also other organs. With early detection and appropriate treatment of the disease and new therapeutic options, patients’ quality of life can be significantly improved, and their life expectancy extended by decades.

According to Dr. Ferenc Papp, head physician at the department:

The new device enables our department to measure the sodium chloride content of sweat too, which is particularly important as our paediatric pulmonary and gastroenterology departments have a large number of patients with suspected cystic fibrosis based on clinical symptoms. Based on our preliminary estimates, we expect to examine approximately 50-100 patients per year. The test is relatively easy to perform, not painful or particularly stressful, and the results are available immediately. The device is unique in its ability to measure very small amounts of sweat (0.5 microlitres), which is particularly useful for testing infants who don’t sweat as much.

Thanks to the device donated by the RBIF the children’s department can add this valuable test to its diagnostic portfolio. So far, patients have had to travel miles away to Szeged for appointments. With the new device, the test can be performed in Hódmezővásárhely, almost immediately, helping to detect cystic fibrosis early and thus contributing to improving the quality of life of the patients concerned. A negative test result, on the other hand, can eliminate fears and anxiety in parents, which is no less important. The sweat analyser will be used in the brand-new children’s department at the hospital in Hódmezővásárhely, which was officially opened in April 2023.

We thank the Robert Burns International Foundation for the continued support.

Key ventilation equipment for Péterfy Sándor Utca Hospital

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The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Péterfy Sándor Street Hospital – Outpatient Clinic in Budapest is one of the largest level-2 neonatal intensive care units in the country.

The neonatal wing can deal with anything between 500 and 600 premature babies every year with a maximum capacity to accommodate 20 to 30 babies at any one time.

Since 2014, the Robert Burns International Foundation has been supporting this unit with regular donations of high value to help the doctors and nurses provide a better and safer level of care for the many young patients, greatly facilitating their day-to-day work.

“In recent years, the Foundation’s donations of state-of-the-art incubators, patient monitors, testing equipment and breastfeeding equipment have greatly helped our work”, revealed Dr Gábor Boross, Head of Department.

In 2023, the Robert Burns International Foundation donated more than HUF 5 million to invest in non-invasive respiratory support for newborns and premature infants and the additional equipment needed for operating this equipment (respiratory monitors, humidifiers). The WILAflow Elite is a microprocessor-controlled, non-invasive ventilator for the smallest and most fragile patients with a variety of advanced non-invasive ventilation modes – including apnea wake-up and automatic leak compensation. It uses electronic air/oxygen mixing technology that allows highly accurate adjustment of the required oxygen concentration at the touch of a button and automatically proportions the oxygen and air supply. The intelligent flow sensor and proportional valve allow real-time analysis of the selected ventilation parameters and oxygen concentration. The WILAflow Elite consistently delivers precise O2 concentrations at positive pressure, which improves spontaneous breathing.

The Nellcor bedside SpO2 patient monitoring system incorporates the latest Nellcor digital signal processing technology for accurate, reliable readings even during low perfusion and other forms of signal interference, providing clinicians with access to the most critical information regarding their patients’ respiratory status, giving them the information they need to detect respiratory complications earlier and intervene sooner.

“This equipment will enable us to provide state-of-the-art, safe and effective respiratory support for premature and newborn babies with respiratory distress, treatment that avoids complications wherever possible. On behalf of our patients, my colleagues and myself, we would like to thank the Robert Burns International Foundation for their generous and valuable donation.

Outdoor therapy area in Zalaegerszeg

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For many years now as part of our SME Sponsorship Scheme, and in collaboration with FirstMed Centers, the Robert Burns International Foundation has supported the Infant and Paediatric Department at the Szent Rafael Hospital in Zalaegerszeg.

This hospital not only functions as a health-care institution for the 60,000 people who live in this town situated in the south-west of Hungary in Zala county. It is also the main hospital for the surrounding area, and accepts patients from throughout western Hungary, and even from across Hungary’s borders.

In 2023, after consulting with the hospital administration we were asked to help fund a completely new project, an outdoor therapy playground located on the hospital grounds. According to the team of specialists who run the outdoor therapy area:

We can complement the therapy of children coming to us for rehabilitation from all over the country by using outdoor games to enhance their motivation for hard training and to offer them a pleasant experience. The majority of our young patients come to us with neurological issues, and most of them have impaired motor, cognitive, speech, self-motivation functions.

Playing outdoors provides these children with a huge dose of intrinsic motivation. The slide, the dolphin, the bee and the lily are very popular toys. In addition to us being able to offer them therapy in the open air, this equipment can serve important therapeutic purposes for children for whom sitting, standing and walking do not come very easily.

We chose this equipment for children with neurological disorders because they improve balance, coordination and head-torso control, relieve adduction contracture in children with spastic muscles, as well as developing pelvic stability and upper limb movement.

The hospital staff are delighted to be able to achieve these objectives thanks to the support provided by the RBIF to complete the playground, and our thanks in turn goes to everyone who attended the 2023 Burns Supper to help us do so. And our special thanks to Dennis Diokno and his team at FirstMed for continuing to support us in the SME Sponsorship Scheme so we can facilitate big changes at the hospital in Zalaegerszeg every year.

 

Students organise charity drive for Dept. of Paediatrics

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With our SME Sponsorship Scheme we normally team up with like-minded companies and on occasion individuals to support worthy projects helping children’s healthcare around Hungary. In 2023 though, for the first time we partnered up with a school to help one of the main hospitals in Budapest.

Students in the 11th grade at the BME International Secondary Grammar School wanted to hold a Valentine’s Day Ball, but to make it even more special, they decided to use this opportunity to raise some money for charity at the same time, as part of their commitment to help out in the community.

A lot of work went into preparing the ball, which had never been organised before at the school, and significant effort went into collecting a range of interesting and valuable prizes for the raffle, including cinema vouchers, gift cards, a tour of the TV2 studio in Budapest, and a weekend stay in Balatonfüred for 3 people. The money from the raffle totalled HUF 270,000, an incredible sum for the students to have raised, and this was duly doubled by the Robert Burns International Foundation to HUF 540,000.

Director of the Paediatric Clinic of Semmelweis University, Professor Dr. Attila Szabó, and Dr. Tamás Constantin, representing the Guardians of the Tűzoltó Street Foundation for Patients with Cancer and Leukaemia, were happy to receive the pledged funds, which were used to buy mattress protectors for the various wards in the children’s department.

A spokesperson for the clinic said:

“It makes you wonder what motivates teenagers to do such a noble deed. Family motivation certainly has a lot to do with it, and the school community, where the desire to help others is natural and accepted, can also be a decisive factor. It was a joy and a pleasure to see these young people. We are honoured that they chose us! Thank you!”

 

New equipment and re-decorated children’s department in Mezőtúr

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In 2023 as part of our SME Sponsorship Scheme we were delighted to team up with a new partner, HFI Kft., and we decided to continue our support of the Children’s Department at the rural hospital in Mezőtúr, in eastern Hungary.

Dr. Ferenc Antal expressed his sincere thanks on behalf of the hospital and clinic, and the children of Mezőtúr, for our repeated support.

We feel very fortunate that the Robert Burns Foundation has supported our department for the third time. We are also delighted that they have once again shown imagination in helping us keep the children’s ward running in this disadvantaged area and have thus contributed to the comfortable and safe operation of the children’s ward.

This year, the medical equipment bought included ambu balloons and inhalers, which are practically used on a daily basis for inhalation therapy of respiratory tract infections, neonatal blood pressure cuffs, essential for performing blood pressure measurements on all four limbs, and an infant pulse oximeter for respiratory disorders.

But the funding from the RBIF and HFI Kft. went even further, because we funded the re-decoration of the entire department.

Dr. Antal explains why:

It’s been about 8 years since we had our department painted, and after all this time, wards for children are worth a little renovation and painting. Not to mention infection control and the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. We were not a Covid care site, but were affected by the outbreak. Most of our patients suffer from viral infections and respiratory illnesses. Our hospital was able to do some repairs on its own, but other investments prevented this work from being carried out.

Let us pass on the thanks from Dr. Antal on behalf of all the children who are treated there, and on behalf of all the staff who struggle daily to ensure that they do not suffer from a lack of care.