Yorkhill Hospital has one of the most cutting-edge cardiology departments in the UK with an international reputation for excellence.

But to keep the cardiology centre at the forefront of British paediatrics requires extra funding, which comes from the Yorkhill Children's Foundation (YCF).

Paediatric consultant cardiologist Trevor Richens leads the service at Yorkhill and says the equipment provided by the YCF has had a huge impact.

He said: "Their work helps us maintain the position of one of the top cardiac units in the UK.

"They provide equipment that should really be provided by the NHS, but it is not essential so is not prioritised for funding.

"They also provide other equipment we wouldn't be able to provide under the NHS. For example, a machine that enables us to look at children's hearts on a 3D scanner, avoiding carrying out painful, invasive procedures."

Three surgeries for hypoplastic left heart syndrome have been carried out this year at Yorkhill, having previously never been performed in Scotland.

Because the procedure is so high risk, with a survival rate of just 65% after five years and 50% after 10 years, the surgery was previously carried out only in Birmingham or London.

But Dr Richens and his team performed the first operation in July this year and have successfully completed two more with all three patients doing well.

In August this year two teenagers aged 16 and 17 became the second and third in Scotland to have a transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR), carried out by Dr Richens and consultant cardiologist Dr Niki Walker.

The first was carried out on a 64-year-old man, Ernest Donnelly, at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank.

Doctors operate on around 320 to 350 heart patients each year at Yorkhill, ranging from newborn to 17 years old. Dr Hitchens has recently operated on three-day-old and a five-day-old baby.

Some children are identified as needing specialist cardiac care while they are still in the womb.

The 3-D Intra- Operative Echocardiography (ECHO) machine, which lets doctors see a 3D image of the heart in real time, gives surgeons the chance to provide the best possible care for congenital hearts defects.

Yorkhill's ECHO machine was bought with help of £149,000 funding from the YCF, which also gave £140,000 towards two cardiac ultrasound machines, vital in the evaluation and treatment of children with cardiac abnormalities.

The cardiac team is made up of three surgeons working between Yorkhill and the Vale of Leven hospitals and four consultants in Yorkhill and two in Edinburgh.

Two adult cardiologists work with children after they leave Yorkhill and eight physiologists carry out heart scans.

Three liaison sisters explain all the details to the patients and families in a way that's easy to understand.

Yorkhill is one of four dedicated paediatric extracorporeal support centres in Britain, for the treatment of heart and lung problems.

And it is one of only two designated centres for the treatment of Vein of Galen aneurysms, a rare condition affecting the blood vessels of the brain.

Kevin Hill, director of the Women and Children's Directorate at NHSGGC, said: "Over the past 10 years the YCF has provided more than £8 million of charitable funding towards enhanced medical equipment, improvements in child and family facilities and paediatric research and training.

"We are very grateful to the YCF for the big and little extras that have helped to make Yorkhill the leading children's hospital that it is."

To mark 10 years of the charity, the YCF is holding Yorkhill Week from September 17 to 25.

The theme of the week is Yorkhill Heroes, a celebration of the heroic children who have been treated at Yorkhill Hospital, and their families, the hospital staff and the YFC fundraisers.

To get involved or for more information see www.yorkhillweek.org

CASE STUDY: Lauren McDermid

A routine scan while she was pregnant revealed that Catriona McDermid's baby girl had a serious heart problem.

She had a rare condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which occurs when parts of the left side of the heart do not develop completely, and meant she had to be born in Glasgow as their local hospital in Edinburgh did not have the necessary facilities.

Catriona, from Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh, said: "It was really frightening to learn that my baby was ill but the doctors at Yorkhill were so reassuring. They were positive from the start and made it clear there was something they could do and there were operations that could help."

Lauren, now nine, was born a healthy 8lb but needed surgery at only four days old, then again at 20 months. She was back in Yorkhill last year for a further operation and will continue to be treated at the hospital until she's 18.

But the schoolgirl is now thriving and recently took part in the Challenge Scotland walk to raise funds for the Yorkhill Children's Foundation, pictured.

Catriona, 40, added: "A nurse told me at the time that her heart was like a little strawberry. It's amazing to think she could be operated on when she was that small. Her heart will never be fixed completely, but it's amazing how far she's come, thanks to Yorkhill.

"She's like a different girl. We're really proud of her."